How to be a Good Meeting Participant ~ Bloggerin Info

I HATE meetings. All kinds of meetings. Other people seem to have the same problem. Everybody likes to complain about meetings. It goes without saying that if a number of people have to make plans, they go around and around the topic. Worse, they may talk about something irrelevant to the subject. Therefore, decisions are not made until it's time to go home. Or when we are set to leave, someone asks a question that was asked several minutes before.

People vary. What they think and feel are different. They may also be indefferent moods. One may be enthusiastic about a problem, while others may be bored. Chances are people we gather together in a meeting think of the same things. They know that it will raise a problem, but not at all of them care about it. A meeting will be effective if all are disciplined to use time efficiently and are eager to accomplish the agenda in a certain amount of time. Most important, they should have the same objective, when they held a meeting. Otherwise, they will surely be wasting time.

A good meeting is an efficient way to make plans or decisions on how to get something done. Again, a good meeting pleases everyone. People are satisfied with what was decided. But this article is not about how to run or handle or manage a good meeting. This talks about what you, as one who is in the meeting, can do in order to make the meeting successful and agreeable. What are they?

The most crucial thing to do is to save time. Your own time. So, what is the best way to save time? If you think that the meeting you are invited to is not relevant to your own time. So what is the best way to save time? If you think that the meeting you are invited to is not relevant to your own field and concern, or if you cannot contribute, don't go. Yes, that is the best way to do to save your time. Ask to be excused. End of matter. If you go to a meeting, be punctual. Don't irritate other participants by being late.

In a meeting, people are usually compelled to talk. They feel that they are need to talk to show what they are there, even though they don't know what they are talking about. If everyone in a meeting is eager to say something, the meeting will be quite noisy. And the more you talk, the worse it will be. So, the less said, the better. The main priority in a meeting is not everyone's opinion, but the objective of the meeting itself. An effective meeting is where everyone know when and how to talk.

When everyone wants to join in the conversation and wants others to listen to him, the meeting will get out of hand. In his book, How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere, Larry King says, "Meetings tend to develop sort of bandwagon personality, when one person states a certain premise early in the meeting and everyone else around the table spends the rest of the meeting jumping on the bandwagon. What you need then is someone who is willing to stop the runaway bandwagon by injecting a much needed question like "But isn't the emperor going to get cold standing there naked?" Dumb question are sometimes needed, instead of furios shout to shut them up.

If you are expected to speak in a meeting, or feel you need to speak, be well prepared. Make notes of important things before you speak. This will help keep you from talking nonsense. You will not produce nothing sounds like "uhm" , "err" or "uhh" that make the meeting even worse and ineffective. Making notes will make you at ease with the things you are going to talk. This will help you talk about it clearly and systemically. Speaking without previous preparation will only distract you in giving a good presentation.

Use your sense of humor. Serious meetings can be effective. But they can be boring and tense. Jokes in a meeting are okay. In fact, meetings need good jokes. Not wild ones, of course But jokes that break up the tension for a moment before stepping to the next item in the agenda. Good jokes in the right time will be welcome, but too many jokes will surely distract everyone to a good discussion.