"The camel is the horse that the committee designed."
Proverb

Meetings can represent a productive exchange of opinions or be a black hole in which time, effort and energy disappear without a trace. However common feature for almost all meetings is that they can be much more successful if everyone present is familiar with the rules of effective communication.

Some meeting participants make useful suggestions and listen carefully to the views of others, but the vast majority of people seem to be much more interested not in expressing their views, but in pursuing certain policies.

Here are six ways to fight boredom and improve communication during meetings. Try using them the next time you attend or chair a meeting. These rules are in addition to the general recommendations discussed earlier.

Rule 1: Know the subject of the conversation

Obstacles can arise at any time: before the meeting, during the meeting, and even after it. Failure to set a clear agenda leads to confusion, wasted time, missed opportunities, and frustration.

If the ideas and decisions that arise during the meeting are not communicated effectively to all concerned, unnecessary steps may be taken and necessary steps not taken.

Therefore, before you come to any meeting, you must be absolutely sure that you understand the reasons for its convening and the issues that will be discussed. If you need more information, be sure to take the time to preliminary training. Make sure you have everything required documents and you have complete information about the subject of discussion.

A speech that is off the agenda or even slightly off topic is a waste of time for the listeners. In the words of Peter Ducker, "Efficiency is not about doing something right, but about doing the right thing." The only way to make sure you are "doing the right thing" is through careful planning and preparation.

If you are responsible for organizing and running the meeting, set clear goals for yourself. Start with the following question: What is the purpose of this meeting?

Should it:

• Decide?
• Analyze or solve a problem?
• Familiarize yourself with new information?
• Gather information about a particular project?

Be specific about what you want to achieve and communicate that goal to everyone who will attend the meeting. Prepare a short slogan that reflects the end goal and post it in front of everyone present.

Rule 2: Insist on a written agenda

Regardless of the brevity of the meeting, insist that the agenda be in writing and distributed to all participants in advance. If you will be chairing the meeting, it will be easy for you to organize it. If someone else is organizing, ask them for the agenda, or ask them to create and distribute it themselves before the meeting starts. This will give all participants enough time to prepare and greatly reduce the risk of confusion and errors.

Without a written agenda, meetings often turn into broad, vague debates that miss key points.

When arranging a meeting, ask yourself what the attendees should get from the meeting. How do you think their attitudes and behavior should change?

Rule 3: Limit Your Participation in Meetings

Whenever possible, attend only those meetings where you really need to be. You must know exactly why you are going there and - in the event that you speak yourself - what you want to say.

When organizing a meeting, invite only those whose presence is absolutely necessary. The larger the number of participants, the more difficult it is for you or anyone else to successfully communicate your thoughts to the audience.

• Why was I invited to attend the meeting?
• What can I take away from it that will help me do my job more effectively?

Rule 4: Keep Meeting Participants Interested

People pay special attention to those messages that concern them personally. To successfully present your ideas during the meeting, make sure that you fully comply with these communication conditions.

When conducting a meeting, vary the format, pace, and style of speaking. Don't let the keynote speakers take control of the meeting. If two people grapple and start an argument without paying attention to the others, change the format of the meeting, turning it into a meeting of two opponents.

A lot of time is wasted when people are not able to listen carefully to what they are told. As a result, previously discussed topics are raised again and questions are asked that have already been answered. All presentations should address the core issues of the meeting and should not be just an excuse to show off the personal wit or wisdom of the participants.

Rule 5: Keep your speeches short

Say what you intended and stop. Resist the temptation to talk about trifles.

Never interrupt another speaker, even if you strongly disagree with them. Let him finish and only then express your point of view. This is not only a matter of politeness, but also The best way emphasize the priority of your views. Without interrupting your opponent, you:

• Allow open sound to all strong and weaknesses his positions. If the opponent is interrupted, he can simply continue his argument, accompanying it with a sarcastic remark: “If they let me finish, they would know ...”
• Make it difficult for him to answer your objections, since he has already used most- if not all - their arguments.
• Strengthen your position because you appear to the audience as someone who listens carefully to the opposing side's arguments and carefully weighs the pros and cons before raising your objections.

Avoid getting personal - it's destructive and unproductive. This is a waste of time as the opponent begins to defend himself or retaliate.

Increasing the emotional intensity only distracts the rest of the meeting participants from thinking about your ideas and reduces the chances of successful communication.

Rule 6: End with a plan of action

When attending or chairing a meeting, encourage speakers to formulate a clear plan of action that would result from your meeting. If you are the boss, make it clear to those present that you intend to stick to the decision you have made. If the decision made concerns you, be sure to follow it.

business meeting is a form collegiate discussing issues in order to inform and make decisions on them.

There are three main types of meetings presented in Table 10.

Table 10 - Types of business meetings

Now consider the process of preparing and holding business meetings (see Figure 6).

Figure 6 - Stages of a business meeting

Meeting preparation

IN preparation for the meeting it is important to define it goals - the expected result, the desired type of solution, the desired outcome of the work. The exact wording of the subject of discussion will help to obtain the desired result.

Subject meetings are the subject of discussion. It must be specific and of interest to the participants.

meetings. It is advisable to bring up for discussion only those topics that cannot be resolved in a working order.

The most important stage in the preparation of the meeting is the development agenda, a written document circulated in advance to meeting participants.

The agenda of the meeting usually contains the following information:

Topic of the meeting;

Purpose of the meeting;

List of issues discussed in the order of their consideration;

Start and end time of the meeting;

The place where it will take place;

Names and positions of the speakers who speak on the main information and are responsible for preparing questions;

Time allotted for each question;

A place where you can get acquainted with the materials on each issue.

The agenda ensures the course of the meeting and the work of the thoughts of those present in the right direction. The agenda and materials of the meeting must be sent to the participants of the meeting in advance, with a mark of familiarization with the documents before the start of the meeting (some information materials can be “circulated” with a list of persons to whom the information concerns, and an instruction to make a mark after reading and pass it on to the next one). This is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to fit the meeting into their work schedule and prepare for it. Participants of the meeting, informed in advance about the subject of discussion, can not only familiarize themselves with the materials in advance, but also think over constructive proposals for solving problems. In cases where the participants of the meeting are not previously informed, at the meetings they express opinions, points of view that provoke discussion and do not contribute to the adoption of an effective decision.

It is advisable to hold business meetings on a certain day of the week (with the exception of emergency meetings), preferably at the end of the working day or in its second half.

The duration of the meeting should not exceed one and a half to two hours. After two hours of continuous work, for purely physiological reasons, most of the participants become indifferent to how the issue is resolved. Therefore, the shortest meeting is the best.

Reasonable number of participants meetings. Often there are people at meetings who have nothing to do there. P. Bird in the book "Time Management" proposes to determine the cost of the meeting in terms of money in terms of the wages of the participants. Suppose ten people present at an hour-long meeting spend a total of ten hours of working time on it. Let's determine the amount of the cost of the meeting by adding up the cost of an hour of working time for each of them - we get an impressive amount. If the meeting is attended by employees of a sufficiently high rank, then the cost of the meeting for the organization can be very significant.

The optimal number of participants in joint discussions is 6-7 people. If necessary, the number of participants can increase, but within reasonable limits, so as not to exceed 15. An increase in the number of invitees drastically reduces the average participation rate (or return) of those present, while simultaneously lengthening meetings. To invite to the meeting, depending on its topic, you need only those middle managers and specialists in whose competence the problem under discussion is located.

From each department, the presence of one person is desirable. It should be allowed to leave the meeting of those employees whose issue has already been resolved, and specialists should not come to the entire meeting, but according to the regulations, at the time of discussing their problem.

When conducting business meetings, it is possible for the manager to carry out delegation authority to participation in the meeting specialists who are most competent in the problem under discussion (this helps to save time for the manager: a properly trained employee will inform the manager about the results of the meeting at a convenient time for him, and he will be able to make the necessary decisions in a calm atmosphere; in addition, for the employee, participation in meetings will contribute to the acquisition experience and professional skills, developing the ability to act independently and successfully cope with a variety of situations).

Authorities are delegated not only to participate in the meeting, but also to reference meetings (the meeting is entrusted to those specialists who are most competent in the problem under discussion; this contributes to increased responsibility for decisions made, and also increases the activity of participants in generating ideas or constructive proposals).

There is a difference between meetings held by the first manager and a competent colleague. In the first case, the meeting participants think not so much about the problem as about self-preservation and often approve the solution proposed by the leader, not considering it effective (this does not mean that the first managers should refuse to conduct meetings, but the leader needs to take into account the psychological effects, moving away from time, from stereotypes).

Organization of the spatial environment- when preparing the meeting, you need to consider the order of placement of participants. The meeting should be held at a large table and in a spacious room. Crowding is itself a source of conflict. It has been noticed that when the room is small, the pulse of those present quickens, blood pressure rises.

Participants should be placed in such a way that they see the face, eyes, facial expressions, gestures of each other, which contributes to a better perception of information (for example, as in Figure 7).

Figure 7 - Accommodation of meeting participants

For these purposes, a round or oval table is best suited. The leader of the meeting should be able to look into the eyes of the largest number of participants in the meeting.

The order of placement, starting with six participants, must be established using special cards before the participants appear. When placing participants in a meeting, one should take into account the following consideration: representatives of competing groups should not sit opposite each other, with such seating, each edge of the table turns into a trench, and conflicts arise on their own. Therefore, it is necessary to separate the groups that have formed as "resistance units." People who dislike each other are seated as far as possible. The organizer of the meeting, knowing the characters and psychological characteristics of those invited, can, without drawing attention to this, seat the Participants so that those who can break loose and interfere with the consideration of the issue are not opposite each other.

Questions to be asked meeting organizer:

Is a meeting required at all? Is it possible to do without it?

Do I have to personally take part in it?

Which employees should attend the meeting?

What can be done to reduce the number of participants to a minimum?

Is the selected time convenient or should the meeting be rescheduled for another time?

Is the room closed from strangers?

Are all materials needed for the meeting available?

How best to seat the meeting participants and what techniques to create a creative atmosphere to use?

Holding a meeting

Meetings are more effective when participants know their goals and rules of conduct.

Supervisor. For the meeting to be successful, its leader must solve both general and special tasks.

TO general The tasks of the meeting leader include:

1) it is necessary to open the meeting with a brief and clearly formulated message regarding the problem at hand (and the opening speech of the leader should focus on a positive solution to the problems and carry confidence in their successful solution);

2) In the organizational plan, it is necessary to agree on the rules of work, clarify the agenda, report on the regulations, warn about the removal of speeches that are not on the merits of the issue;

3) During the meeting, it is necessary to briefly and essentially sum up the results worked out in order to adhere to agreements and compromises with their help.

4) It is required to keep the discussion in the direction provided by the leader (this means that he needs to besiege the verbose, force those who remain silent to speak, and not allow the speakers to deviate from the intended issue; in case of criticism, demand its constructiveness and prevent the transition to personalities ).

1) Stay in neutral positions - this has a positive effect on the emotional state of those present.

2) Keep the conversation going. If there is an awkward pause, intervene immediately by asking follow-up questions, explaining, or debriefing.

3) Take immediate action in case of tension - the dispute should not flare up.

4) Anticipate the possibility of implementing the proposed ideas and solutions, reject ill-conceived solutions. Consider only evidence-based solutions.

5) Call the meeting participants by name to speak.

6) Remember that only one person should always speak, keep discussions out of the meeting.

7) Listen to the views of all participants. No ideas are held on so stubbornly as those that have not been discussed.

8) Remember that the meeting is not a battlefield where the enemy must be "destroyed", so strive to develop common approaches, look for common ground.

9) Be intolerant of excursions into the past, deviations from the topic, destructive criticism that some participants allow. The meeting should consistently step by step approach the solution of the problem.

10) To avoid misunderstandings, if necessary, clarify the messages of individual participants: “Did I understand this correctly?”, “Will it be right?”

11) Summarize subtotals more often to show the participants how close they are to the goal.

12) Save time. At the very beginning, explain that the problem can no doubt be solved in the allotted time. If possible, do not drag out the meeting for one minute.

The authority of the head of the meeting largely depends on how competently and consistently he conducts the meeting, how much he monitors compliance with the regulations. The head of the meeting, who allows someone to be late, to discuss among themselves during the meeting, to come to the meeting unprepared (without collecting and analyzing the materials on the issue under consideration), threatens with a complete loss of authority.

The leader of the meeting should not allow a situation where some undisciplined colleagues heat up the atmosphere that is developing at the meeting. Successful completion of the meeting will be possible only with thorough and serious preparation for the meeting of its leader.

At the end of the meeting, the leader must summarize the discussion, clearly develop a solution and outline ways to implement it. The opportunity should be used to thank the failed minority for active cooperation, for only the joint efforts of all participants helped to achieve the desired result. Giving thanks to the underdog will encourage them to speak at subsequent meetings.

Meeting participants.

The rules of conduct for meeting participants are no less significant for an operational meeting.

Tips for meeting participants

1) Represent yourself in your statements and use the pronoun "I" instead of "we" or the impersonal form. When a speaker says "we", he usually avoids responsibility for what he says.

2) In statements, be specific, clearly state your thoughts, answer for your mistakes, defend your personal point of view, be patient with dissent.

3) After listening to the information, ask questions to clarify and understand the problem under discussion. Do not use questions that provoke conflicts and lead away from solving the problem.

4) Refrain, as far as possible, from interpreting other people's ideas and thoughts. Speak not about the actions and thoughts of others, but about your perception of these thoughts, that is, formulate judgments in the language of “I-messages”, and not “You-statements”. For example, don't say, "You made a mistake here," say, "It seems to me that a mistake crept in here."

5) Express your own position and try to find the most rational decision Problems.

The best decision made at a meeting is worth little if, at the same time as making it, you do not take care of its implementation and do not control the progress of its implementation.

At the stage end of the meeting its leader must solve the following tasks:

1) formalize briefly and definitely the result achieved at the meeting;

2) establish what steps should follow the decision, distribute responsibilities, determine those responsible for the implementation of the decision and its control over the implementation.

The course of the meeting and its results are reflected in Protocol which should be kept short and concise. An important point is to familiarize those persons who will implement the decision with this document.

During the meeting, the leader should convey to subordinates useful information and set clear goals for them. If everything is done correctly, labor efficiency will increase, otherwise the order of meetings should be reviewed.

How often do you hold meetings? How often do your employees get something useful from them? Do they understand the goals and objectives that you have set for them?

Does the efficiency of their work increase after planning meetings? Are you getting adequate feedback? If you answered “no” to at least one question, then you need to learn how to conduct effective meetings and planning meetings to spend a minimum of time on them and get the maximum benefit.

Effective meeting

With the help of meetings, communication is maintained between different departments and within the departments themselves, embodied decisions taken and increase the motivation to perform the work of individual employees. But only an effective meeting can solve these problems, so check yourself if your meetings meet the following criteria:

1. Format conformance. There are several types of meetings: meeting, briefing and operative. Each of these meetings has its own goals and accordingly lasts different time. The operative is designed to solve the problem that has just arisen.

It usually lasts 5-10 minutes, it gathers people directly related to the problem. A planning meeting is usually held every day in the morning and lasts 25-30 minutes. During this time, the manager needs to set tasks for the day, get feedback on the results of the previous day and adjust plans if necessary.

The meeting aims to find a solution global problem, form a new offer for your market, develop new program motivation, etc.

Often meetings are divided into two stages - the first is held in the evening, it sets the goals of the meeting, outlines the problems that will be discussed. In the morning, the second stage begins, which can last up to two hours. A full meeting is pure creativity.

2. Specification of tasks. Each meeting should have clearly defined tasks that are announced to the participants in advance. Deviation from the agenda is highly undesirable.

3. Rigid regulations. A meeting must have a start and end time, whether or not all the invitees show up. Set clear time limits, eg end agenda item 1 in 25 minutes.

For each speaker, take certain time- 5 minutes is enough, it will teach people to speak to the point. If you hear extraneous conversations or digression from the topic, stop these attempts, save your time.

4. Optimal composition. The meeting must be attended by the people it concerns. Just like that, sit and listen, do not invite anyone. Let everyone mind their own business.

5. Word to everyone. Each participant in the meeting should have the opportunity to express their opinion on a particular issue. Do not interfere and, moreover, do not interrupt the employee’s speech, even if it goes against your point of view. Do you need adequate feedback?

6. Record keeping. The agenda is not the only binding document of the meeting. The protocol, which records all the main points, the employees who spoke in order of priority, their opinion on a particular issue, and most importantly the results of the meeting, is a very useful paper.

Be sure to send out a newsletter to the meeting participants so that they always have it at hand for clarification of any points. So it will be more convenient to control the implementation of tasks and analyze the results. It is the “task - results - control - task” scheme that allows you to make the meetings the most efficient and concise.

7. Planned meeting. Every employee should know when Once again invited to the meeting room. Surprise is a bad helper in organizing meetings, participants do not have time to prepare or do not come at all due to absence from the office.

If a problem arose suddenly, and you decided to call an operative to solve it, get ready for the answers “I don’t know,” “I need to check,” and “I will provide you with a report later.”

How to prepare and conduct an effective meeting?

To have an effective meeting, you must first prepare for it. Before starting the meeting, the leader should clarify the following questions for himself:

• What goals does the meeting pursue and what tasks does the meeting solve?
• what is the format of the meeting, what are the roles of the meeting participants. The roles of employees are distributed in advance: there must be a chairman and a secretary. Also determine the exact start and end time of the meeting.
• what is the structure of the meeting. A typical structure looks like this:
• greetings;
• announcement of the goals of the meeting, the tasks set, the format of the meeting;
• discussion and analysis of existing problems;
• receiving feedback from performers;
• analysis of the results and setting tasks for the near future;
• summarizing.
• what is the agenda of the meeting. Determine the exact time to work on each agenda item, allocate time for a break if the meeting involves long time holding.
• what documents are needed. Prepare all the necessary information that will be of interest to the participants, make a distribution of materials so that they are studied in advance.
• whether a meeting is necessary. Before sending out invitations to a meeting, check if it is really necessary.

Answer these questions for yourself:

• Do the tasks you set need to be addressed right now?
• What should participants take away from the meeting?
• How should their work change after the meeting?
• Has all the necessary information been collected? Will you get a “I don't know” answer to any question?
• Is it possible to solve the problem in another way, without holding meetings?

Remember about simple rules conduct effective meetings, keep the audience's attention on main goal, keep the discussion positive or neutral and encourage people to express their own opinions.

Then you will get an increase in the efficiency of your employees and at the same time reduce the amount of time wasted.

A meeting is a mandatory event in which all members of an organization participate, such as an annual meeting of shareholders or general meeting cooperative members. The procedure for holding a meeting is regulated by the charter of the relevant organization, the course of the meeting and the decisions taken are recorded in special document- minutes of the meeting.

In contrast to the meeting, the meeting is attended by a certain fixed circle of persons, as a rule, who are representatives of various firms or departments of the enterprise. Meetings are usually regular, meeting strictly

divided time, most often once a week, and are intended to discuss current issues, although there may be unscheduled meetings caused by production needs. Meeting minutes are not required, but a decision is usually made at the end of the meeting.

Business meetings are divided into business conversations and negotiations. Business conversations are held in a free form, designed to discuss any issues that have arisen and do not necessarily end with a decision. Negotiations are meant to resolve serious issues joint activities enterprises, delimitation of areas of activity, development of pricing policy, etc. They end with the adoption of final documents or oral declarations.

Due to the specifics of their work, any merchant quite often has to take part in various meetings, conferences and business meetings, as well as organize these events himself. It is necessary to follow the established procedure for their organization and conduct, because often the success of all commercial work depends on it.

When preparing a meeting, meeting or negotiations, you must:

1. Choose and clearly formulate an agenda. There may be two or three major issues and three or four minor ones on the agenda. If there are few main questions, then the meeting will proceed slowly and take as much time as if there were enough of them, and with a large number of questions, the discussion will become superficial.

2. Determine the composition of the participants (for a meeting, negotiations). The exception is production meetings, which are held regularly (usually once a week) with a constant composition of participants.

3. Select the day and time of the event. During negotiations, the day and time are agreed in advance with all participants.

4. Notify the participants about the day and time of the event. When holding a meeting, it is desirable to do this 5-7 days in advance. The day and time of the production meeting is notified only to those invited to it, who are not permanent participants meetings.

5. Set the expected duration of the event and warn the participants about it. Experience shows that announcing the end time of a meeting or meeting reduces its duration by 10-15%.

6. Prepare the main report or message and determine the mandatory participants in the discussion. The report must be specific, reflect the essence of the issue under consideration, the conclusions must be substantiated. Verbosity and vagueness of the report or message causes indifference among listeners.

7. Select and prepare a room. Care must be taken to ensure that the room is comfortable enough to accommodate all participants. There should be no shortage of chairs. When organizing negotiations on the tables in front of each participant, it is advisable to put a card indicating the last name, first name, patronymic and name of the company he represents. There should also be paper and writing materials on the tables, you can put soft drinks. good tone it is considered to serve tea or coffee with a small amount of pastries during negotiations.

You need to start work at the right time. Delaying the start of a meeting or meeting usually results in next members will be collected very late. It is customary to strictly observe the start time of negotiations by all parties; being late for negotiations is considered as extreme disrespect for partners and can lead to undesirable consequences.

The situation during the meeting (conference) or business meeting should be kind. Personal attacks in relation to the participants, showdown are unacceptable.

A chairman is elected to conduct the meeting. The main duties of the chairman are:

follow the rules;

announce the name and position of the speaker, the name of the organization of which he is a representative.

The chairman of the meeting must meet certain requirements, the main of which are: competence, impartiality, the ability to express clearly and clearly, and tolerance for other people's opinions. The chairman has no right to express his preference for one or another opinion or participant in the meeting, as well as to impose his opinion. He should state his proposals after all.

An important milestone any assembly or meeting is the adoption of a decision. At such moments, the meeting often becomes helpless, as if losing energy. This happens because the participants are unable to realize that it is time to make a decision, or hesitate, not daring to make a choice. In such cases, it is best to choose one proposal and continue to consider it. It is important not to miss the moment when the debate should be closed - here the experience and skill of the chairman is needed. Good way- intermediate voting. It sums up the next stage of the discussion. One should not, however, be too hasty with the final vote, since it is possible to make a decision that is rejected by a minority. In this case, members of the minority may take action to prove the majority wrong, which may lead to the resumption of discussion and the loss of results already achieved.

special kind meeting is a so-called "brainstorming". Such a meeting is held when it is necessary to decide difficult problem, find a way out of a confusing situation, make a responsible decision.

To hold such a meeting, first of all, it is necessary to clearly formulate the task - only one, the most difficult or the most important. It is desirable that no more than 7-12 people take part in the discussion. It is advisable to arrange the chairs in a circle so that there is no "gallery" and "presidium". It is necessary to strictly determine the time of the discussion. Lack of time creates stress, stimulating brain activity. The optimal time for such a meeting is about 30 minutes. No one should criticize the proposed proposals. Most people cannot work creatively under conditions of moral hazard, if one is pulled down, others will only think about how not to seem stupider than everyone else. At the beginning of the discussion, as a rule, banal, empty ideas are put forward. The ban on criticism makes it easier to put forward any ideas, among which there may be very valuable ones. It is advisable to select best ideas rather than discarding the worst, what seemed unusable now may come in handy later. No need to establish the authorship of ideas - the best ideas are always the product of collective creativity.

When a way out seems to be found difficult situation, it is desirable to divide into two groups - "supporters" and "opponents" and try to find weaknesses in the developed solution. The final decision must be clearly formulated and recorded.

Rules for preparing meetings

Meeting Types

Meetings classified depending on the importance and content of the problems brought up for discussion and the tasks to be solved, as well as the place, time and duration of the work.

operational meetings may have the goal of providing the manager with the information he needs about the current state of affairs in the organization; a brief exchange of views on the merits of issues that arise in the course of the production process, as well as the development of a common tactic for the actions of various links organizational structure in connection with current production tasks.

Information at such meetings moves from bottom to top, i.e. from subordinates to leaders. The information obtained allows the manager directly during the meeting (quickly) to assess the situation, determine the backlog, make decisions and set tasks for subordinates indicating the performers and deadlines. As a rule, subordinates do not make detailed and detailed reports at operational meetings. Operational meetings may take place in various forms: five minutes, flyers, etc. Main Feature such meetings is their short duration.

briefing meetings are designed to transfer information, orders and requirements from top to bottom along the vertical of control.

The main feature of such meetings is that the leader not only brings the necessary information to the attention of subordinates and issues orders, but specifies the tasks set to the maximum, appointing performers and deadlines. At the same time, discussion of information and methods for solving the tasks set is allowed at briefing meetings. Subordinates can clarify some points, make constructive proposals for consideration by management.

Problem meetings are aimed at finding the optimal solution as a result of discussion and analysis of the problem under consideration.

Problematic meetings are the most complex view meetings. In the process of a problematic meeting, a collective solution is developed on complex issues affecting the change in the functional tasks of the structural units or their adaptation to new areas of the organization's activities.

Problem meetings often take the form of discussions. The way in which a decision is made depends on the leadership style. The most common is following diagram problem meeting:

1. Formulation of the problem, statement of the problem.

2. Reports of participants.

3. Questions to the speakers.

4. Discussion, discussion, debate.

5. Formation of a decision.

6. Correction of the solution.

7. Acceptance final version solutions.

The formulation of the problem, the formulation of the problem, its analysis and the search for a solution are carried out, as a rule, before the start of the meeting itself. This stage can take the form of a preliminary conversation with meeting participants (a few days before the meeting itself), the distribution of newsletters, or a work plan for periodic problem meetings.

At problematic meetings, the degree of democracy and creative activity should be high enough. In this case, the leader plays the role of chairman, coordinating the course of the meeting.

In addition, the following types of meetings can be used in various organizations:

§ informing employees (including in the form of

instructive-methodical lesson);

§ work planning for certain period;

§ summing up the results for various periods of time (as well as sub-

maintaining the results of work on a specific project), etc.

If a business conversation makes visual the mediation of interpersonal interaction in an organization by the status, functional position of a person, then a business meeting allows you to point out another the most important factor business interaction, namely the group factor. When preparing and holding a business meeting, it should be remembered that the characteristics of group behavior (from the distribution of roles in the group to group pressure) will have a serious impact on the nature of the interaction of its participants.

Rules for preparing meetings

A business or office meeting is a technologically complex and time-consuming event. The work of preparing for a meeting begins with a clear definition of its purpose.

Purpose of the meeting is a description desired result, the desired type of solution, the desired outcome of the work ( possible options purposes: preliminary exchange of views, preparation of recommendations for decision-making, decision-making on a specific issue, etc.).

The leader must clearly understand why he is convening the meeting, and also be able to clearly communicate the purpose of the meeting to its participants. When setting the purpose of the meeting, vague, non-specific formulations should be avoided. This causes a decrease in interest in the proposed problem and subconsciously leads to a feeling that its substantive solution is not necessary. The formulation of the goal should primarily reflect the features of the intended outcome of the discussion of issues. Depending on the purpose of the meeting, its agenda is formulated and the list of participants is selected.

If the purpose of the meeting is to exchange information and set forthcoming tasks in the course of current work, then only heads of departments are invited. At such a meeting, those present are introduced to the state of affairs, they are informed about the progress in implementing the decisions taken at the previous meeting, and clearly formulate tasks for the future.

If the purpose of the meeting is to solve a specific problem, then those who can professionally cope with the task, who are able to offer their own solution to the problem, are attracted to work in it. In this case, the meeting participants are provided with information on the problem, the task is formulated clearly and unambiguously.

The purpose of the meeting determines the place, date and time of the meeting.

Scheduled meetings(e.g. debriefing board meetings, scheduling) are more convenient to schedule on certain days of the week or certain numbers month.

Unscheduled meetings, especially with a large number participants (for example, emergency informing), it is desirable to carry out at the end of the working day in order to exclude the expenditure of working time on the resumption of interrupted work.

Short operational meetings(five-minute or summer meetings) are recommended to be carried out at the beginning of the working day.

The time of meetings should be determined by the schedule established in the organization (department). Unscheduled meetings knock out the rhythm, thereby reducing the culture business communication deprive the manager of the opportunity to plan his work time and dispose of them, disrupt scheduled meetings and affairs.

Meetings are recommended to be scheduled in the afternoon or 1.5 - 2 hours before the end of work. As a rule, the first half of the day is more productive, and it is better if employees are busy with their duties at this time. There is one more thing to consider if the meeting is scheduled at the end of the working day. The leader gets the opportunity to hold the meeting promptly, without delaying the discussion, as he has an excuse to stop it in case of unfavorable development.

Meeting topic is the subject of discussion. The topic should be formulated in such a way as to interest each participant of the meeting. It is necessary to bring to meetings only those issues that cannot always be resolved in a working order.

One of the rules of management organization and ethics service relations should become obligatory preliminary mailing of the agenda to the participants of the meeting. In addition, the ethical business relations should be considered a preliminary distribution of brief written information on the substance of the issues considered at the meeting. It is unacceptable if a person who is incompetent in the issues submitted to the meeting is engaged in such mailing - this obviously reduces the feeling of relevance.

Meeting agenda is a written document distributed in advance to meeting participants and includes the following information:

§ topic of the meeting;

§ purpose of the meeting;

§ list of issues to be discussed;

§ the start and end time of the meeting (ideally, the start and end time of the discussion of each issue);

§ the exact location of the meeting;

§ names of speakers, co-speakers responsible for preparing questions;

§ the time and place where one can get acquainted with the materials on each issue (the presence of such instructions will not allow negligent employees to justify their unpreparedness for the discussion of the issue by the lack of information).

Draft decisions, abstracts of reports, references can be sent as an annex to the agenda. It is very good if, before the start of the meeting, the persons preparing the questions are given in advance comments from the meeting participants on draft decisions, abstracts of speeches.

Regardless of the importance and speed of the meeting, the number of issues submitted to it should remain within three to five (sometimes seven). At the same time, it is most convenient to prepare the agenda in such a way that it includes one or two main issues and two to five minor ones that do not require lengthy discussion. A large number of agenda items tires the participants of the meeting and does not allow to catch the main focus of the meeting as a whole. A meeting will also be unproductive, all the issues discussed of which will be of equal importance and require a deep detailed discussion.

Great importance has a selection of meeting participants, i.e. the effectiveness of the meeting largely depends on how the competence and authority of the invited staff correspond to the goals and objectives of the meeting. The number of participants is also determined by the goals and objectives of the meeting and, in some cases, by the status or level of solemnity of the meeting.

The optimal number of people invited to a meeting is 7 - 9, with a maximum of 12 people. The main rule here is the highest activity of participants in the discussion of issues. Increasing the number of invitees drastically lowers the average attendance (or return) rate while lengthening the meeting.

The organizers of the meeting require, as a rule, the participation of the first persons of the departments of the organizational structure. However, more competent in solving specific tasks may be one of the non-management employees. Therefore, it is advisable to give the head the right to determine who will represent his unit at the meeting. It is desirable that the meeting participants include people who are capable of performing the roles of an “expert”, “idea generator”, and “critic” in the course of collective mental activity.

In order to avoid the presence of extras, it is recommended to use the method of "changing" participants (the method of "split discussion"). A carefully prepared agenda allows you to organize the meeting in such a way that, after discussing your issue, some of the employees can leave it, giving way to those whose issue is being discussed. It turns out that some employees are present at the meeting from beginning to end, while others are invited specifically at the time of the discussion of a particular issue. Thus, each participant will attend only part of the meeting, which, of course, reduces the total time, and therefore indirectly increases the effectiveness of the event itself.

The composition of the meeting participants is optimized by using the principle of “telephone distance” to an employee whose participation is dictated by the course of the meeting itself and the need to receive additional information from this employee. Specialists (whose information may be needed, instead of being invited to a meeting, you can be asked to be at their workplace at the specified time interval in order to call them if necessary or get help by phone.

Meeting duration. The duration of the meeting depends largely on the type of meeting:

§ optimal duration problematic meetings are considered 1.5 - 2 hours (in exceptional cases - 2 - 5 hours);

§ the time for consideration of one issue should not exceed 45 minutes;

§ operational and instructional meeting should not last more than 20 - 30 minutes;

§ meeting flyer (five minutes) is carried out, as a rule, within 5 - 10 minutes.

The meeting should begin and end at a strictly appointed time so as not to undermine the credibility of the manager and the employees who prepared him.

Breaks. During a meeting that lasts two or more hours, it is recommended to take breaks, otherwise after two hours the participants may experience a period of “negative activity”. Optimal break times:

§ after 45 – 50 min. work - 10 minutes;

§ after 1.5 hours of work - 15 minutes.

Breaks are necessary, first of all, for rest, and, secondly, during breaks, in a different, relaxed atmosphere, in private conversations, work on the topic of the meeting continues.

Meeting agenda. Compliance with procedural issues (rules) is the responsibility of the chairman. The importance of following the rules is:

§ the regulations allow to achieve the elaboration of the planned issues;

§ disciplines the participants of the meeting, increasing their business

attitude and respect for the meeting as a collegiate body for the adoption important decisions;

§ The regulations do not allow unreasonably delaying the meeting.

A leader who strictly adheres to the rules - good example to emulate.

Location of the meeting. The active and efficient course of the meeting is facilitated by the fulfillment of certain requirements for the equipment of the premises for its holding.

The room where the meeting is to be held and the number of seats in it should correspond to the number of participants. Naturally, it should be spacious enough and have a reserve of empty seats in case the number of participants increases for one reason or another. However, one should not choose too large an audience for a small meeting - the presence a large number empty seats psychologically negatively affects the participants of the meeting.

In addition, when equipping a special room with furniture, one should be guided by the principle that the relative position of the participants during the meeting should not emphasize differences in their service-hierarchical status. In this case, the concept of "round table" has a direct and figurative sense as a means of ensuring the ease of mutual contacts between people and their optimal spatial arrangement.

In the case when a sufficiently large meeting is held, it is necessary to take care of the installation of microphones and visualization tools. It is necessary to control the air temperature, lighting and sound insulation so that the meeting participants are not distracted by extraneous stimuli.

One of the most important points is to prepare the leader for the meeting. The leader must:

§ formulation of the main goal of the meeting and sub-goals by levels

logical subordination;

§ introductory report or message;

§ sequence of participants' speeches;

§ draft decision.

In order for the meeting to be effective, the manager should have at hand the “Memo for the leader” (Table 11.1) and the “Meeting Preparation Form” (appendix).

Table 11.1

Memo for the head