Page 122 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Leading meetings 111

1 Opening.
2 Items received.
3 Announcements.
4 Report of the last meeting (minutes).
5 Different topics.
6 Any other business (AOB).
7 General questions.
8 Closing/new date.
1 The chairperson opens the meeting by welcoming all those present– introducing new
people or asking everyone briefly to introduce themselves—and asks whether the
agenda is agreed upon.
2 Letters, brochures and reports that have been received since the last meeting come
under discussion. Usually, the chairperson has made a selection of those items which
are to be laid out on the table and those that merit more attention. Depending on the
content of these items, decisions can be taken immediately or discussion can be moved
to the next meeting.
3 The announcements are usually made by the chairperson. They concern matters of
importance to all the participants. Participants can also make announcements of
questions that need only be laid on the table.
4 The minutes of the previous meeting are offered for approval to the meeting. This
moment provides the occasion to make proposals for altering the formulation and
making comments or asking questions about the agreements that have been made. It is
usual during the first round of formal meetings to give the occasion for making
comments concerning the text of the minutes and in the second round for comments in
pursuance of the minutes.
5 The discussion of the different topics is dealt with more extensively below.
6 AOB questions are raised by those present during the meeting and comprise topics
which cannot be handled under any of the other points.
7 The general questions are meant to give each participant the chance to mention points
that have not yet been brought up.
8 The closing of the meeting serves to thank all those present for their contributions to
determine a date, place and time for the next meeting, and to end the meeting.

Discussion of different topics
In Chapter 12 we gave an example of a phase model for handling the topic ‘personnel
day’ during a meeting of the staff association committee of Dinner Ltd. This phase model
gives a general structure for the discussion of different topics during a meeting. The topic
can be a problem about which the meeting must form a picture or opinion. The topic can
also be a proposal. Such a proposal must be introduced and commented on by others. It
can concern a question about which a decision must be taken, or a task that must be
divided up and allocated. The changing topics can all have changing goals: picture
forming and opinion forming, receiving comments, decision making or task allocation.
In the first phase of the model, the question is contemplated from all angles. The
situation is charted, as it were. What is wrong exactly, why is the situation no longer
satisfactory, what do we want to achieve, what are the obstacles, what are the