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Learning to Say No
10. Establish an idea bin. On a flipchart, transparency, or white-
board, list all ideas that the meeting generates. Doing so can
also guide the person who is taking the official notes. 89
An interesting variation: create a “tangent bin” flipchart
sheet (tape it to the wall). All tangents should be listed on it
and, time permitting, they can be taken up toward the meet-
ing’s end. This is a powerful way to diffuse digressions.
11. At the meeting’s close, orally summarize all agreements,
assignments, and decisions. Consensus is integral to a meet-
ing’s success. This is also the time for participants to pose clari-
fying questions, to fill out any details missing from the group’s
action plan, to reinforce accomplishments, and, if appropriate,
to set the next meeting.
12. Via a written meeting summary, list all steps to be taken to
fulfill the meeting’s consensus. The Meeting Summary Form
(Figure 7-2, page 90) provides you with a document to pin
down agreed-upon efforts, assignments, and deadlines. In
essence, it’s a pared-down, action-oriented version of the vener-
able minutes. Figure 7-3 (page 91) summarizes the steps of an
effective meeting.

If You’re Not the Chairperson

All these guidelines for better meetings seem useful. But sup-
pose you’re just a participant? How can you get the person run-
ning things to do it more time-efficiently?
Perhaps you can volunteer to do certain things to facilitate
efficiency. For example, you might offer to provide an agenda
form or to take minutes and translate them into a meeting sum-
mary. Maybe you could suggest that the next meeting have an
official finish time or that an “idea bin” would be useful. If you
can’t say no to a meeting, you can at least say yes to more effi-
cient and vigorous meetings by using initiative and setting an
example.