Lesson 1: Leading A Meeting
If you‘re the chair person, or the person who is leading a meeting. First, you have to get people‘s attention by saying something like:
- okay, let‘s get started
- shall we begin
If it‘s possible that everyone doesn‘t know each other, make introductions. You can say:
- this is Michael Lee fron finance
- do you know Michael Lee from finance?
Sometimes a group is meeting for the first time. In that case, ask people to introduce themselves.
Let‘s take a couple of minutes for people to introduce themselves. Michael, why don‘t you start?
Next, state the objectives of the meeting. Explain what you need to do or what yoiu hope to finish in the Meeting.
eg. Today we need to make a decision about the budget. By the end of this meeting, i hope we‘ll have a decision on the location.
You can also refer to the agenda, if you makde one, or just state your plan.
You may need to explain who will do what. Use words like first, then, next, after that. And finally, to explain the order of the items.
Then ask if there are any questions. This should only take a minute or two.
eg. Here‘s what‘s on our agenda today. The first thing on our agenda is budget.
Frist, we‘re going to look at the cost of the project and then discuss our options.
then Neil will show us some data, and then Erik is going ot tell us what the committee recommends. And finally, if we have time, we‘ll discuss the latest budget.
And questions before we begin?
Now it‘s time to get down to business.
So, let‘s start with Neil. Should we start with the budget?
Tina, would you like to begin?
Erik is going to show us the cost estimate.
As the lead, it‘s important for you to manage the discussion so that everyone has an opportunity to contribute and one person doesn‘t talk all the time. Ask quieter people by name, to contribute.
If one or two people dominate the discussion, thank them for their input before you ask someone else.
Use other people‘s name as you ask them for their opinions or ideas.
eg. Erik, what do you think?
Okay, thanks Neil. You made a good point.
You‘ve raised an important issue.
i‘m glad you brought that up.
Does anyone want to add anything? Are there any questions?
Keep track of how much time you give to each item in the agenda, and keep the meeting moving to accomplish its goals.
eg. Let‘s move on to the budget.
Are we ready to make a decision?
We only have five more minutes. We need to watch the time here.
Let‘s continue this in our next meeting or in email.
Maybe this discussion could happen at a later time. How about postpoing this discussion unitl our next meeting?
Save a few minutes to summarize what has been decided in the meeting.
and don‘t forget to thank people for their participation.
okay, thanks for your input everyone. All right, thanks everyone.
Okay, good meeting. Thank you. Okay, see you next month.