Table of Contents
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1 Understanding the Role of Meeting in Business 5
Chapter 1 Making Meetings More Effective 7
Understanding Why Meetings are Important 8
Discovering Why Better Meetings Benefit Everyone 10
Knowing What Kind of Meetings this Book is About 11
The small group meeting 12
The most common meeting types 12
Discovering Why Meetings are So Complex 14
COVID-19: Disrupting the way we meet 15
Learning about new ways to meet 15
Acknowledging the growing role of technology 16
Running an Effective Group or Team 17
Chapter 2 Matching the Meeting Style with the Meeting Goal 19
Picking a Meeting Communication Style 20
Identifying the main structures of meeting communication 21
Choosing the right communication structure 24
Managing the Meeting's Formality 24
Choosing the right level of meeting formality 25
Planning for collaboration 26
Meshing with Meeting Culture Norms in Your Company 27
Understanding communication, participation, and efficiency patterns 28
Recognizing and developing your team's meeting culture 30
Chapter 3 Understanding the Full Meeting Continuum 33
Being the Architect of Your Meeting Design 34
Designing for before the meeting 35
Designing for during the meeting 36
Facilitating a Productive Discussion 38
Building a process for turn taking 38
Setting ground rules for participation 40
Holding People (Including Yourself) Accountable 41
Defining expectations and consequences 42
Letting follow-up and action items drive the business 44
Chapter 4 Choosing How You Should Meet 45
Picking the Best Meeting Format 46
Meeting in-person 46
Meeting virtually 49
Meeting in a hybrid environment 51
Choosing the Meeting Space 53
Selecting the physical room 53
Setting up the virtual space 56
Timing it Right 57
Right-sizing the meeting duration 57
Building in buffers between meetings 58
Chapter 5 Using Video in Virtual or Hybrid Meetings 59
Understanding the Value of Video When Meeting 60
Creating a richer meeting experience 61
Keeping people from multi-tasking 62
Recognizing the Potential for Video Overload 63
Diagnosing the downside of being on camera 64
Using video when it matters most 67
Setting a Video Policy for Your Team 68
Determining the video culture of your organization 69
Deciding on the video culture of your team 70
Chapter 6 Meeting with Global Participants 73
Understanding Cultural Expectations 75
Recognizing norms about lateness 76
Maintaining cultural diversity in behavior 78
Allowing for cultural tolerance of silence 79
Taking the Setting into Account 81
Avoiding the time zone tragedy 82
Normalizing differences in environment 83
Allowing for differences in video use 84
Part 2 Setting Up for Success - What to do Before a Meeting 87
Chapter 7 Determining if You Even Need a Meeting 89
Knowing What Should be a Meeting 90
Meeting with purpose 91
Meeting for collaboration 92
Knowing What Shouldn't be a Meeting 92
Socializing without aims 93
Informing without deciding 93
Chapter 8 Designing the Meeting to Match Your Goals 95
Choosing Your Format 96
Adjusting for internal or external participants 98
Recognizing different geographic locations 99
Minding time zone differences 100
Creating a Comfortable Meeting Space 102
Enhancing your face-to-face environment 104
Ensuring an effective virtual space 104
Scheduling the Meeting 112
Inviting the right people 112
Accounting for attendees' schedules 113
Picking a suitable meeting length 114
Chapter 9 Setting Meeting Expectations 117
Drafting an Agenda 118
Clarifying the meeting goal or purpose 118
Rightsizing the list of agenda items 122
Sharing your agenda beforehand for attendees to review 123
Soliciting feedback and adjusting your agenda 124
Leaning into Pre-Work 124
Assigning work before the meeting 125
Determining the right amount of pre-work 126
Laying out Participation Ground Rules 129
Establishing participation expectations 130
Calling on individuals in the meeting 135
Part 3 Facilitating and Effective Meeting - What to do During a Meeting 141
Chapter 10 Starting a Meeting 143
Setting the Tone Just Before the Meeting 145
Arriving before the meeting start time 146
Making sure meeting technology is functional 149
Engaging in pre-meeting talk 153
Getting Off to a Good Start 158
Starting the meeting on time 158
Clarifying meeting purpose or goal 159
Assigning an attendee to record notes (meeting minutes) 160
Reiterating participation ground rules 160
Chapter 11 Managing the Conversation Flow 167
Keeping the Meeting on Track 168
Sticking to the agenda 169
Monitoring time spent on each topic 170
Using Communication Strategies to Drive Productive Dialogue 172
Understanding procedural communication 172
Making the right statements 174
Transitioning between topics 175
Driving Discussion 176
Listen actively 178
Paraphrasing comments and repeating questions 179
Probing for deeper dialogue 180
Managing a Brainstorming Session 181
When in person 182
When virtual 182
When hybrid 183
Leading Discussion Until Moment of Decision 184
Chapter 12 Pulling Out Even Participation 185
Ensuring Everyone's Voice is Heard 186
When in person 188
When virtual 189
When hybrid 190
Validating Both Verbal and Nonverbal Participation 191
When in person 192
When virtual 193
When hybrid 194
Enlisting the Help of Others to Encourage Participation 195
When in person 196
When virtual 196
When hybrid 198
Chapter 13 Delivering Your Messages Effectively 201
Simplifying Your Content 202
Analyzing your audience 203
Structuring your message 204
Making your messages memorable 210
Speaking With Impact 213
Using vocal variety to keep attendees' attention 213
Minding your body language 217
Using Visual Aids 220
Creating complementary slides 220
Interacting with visual aids 221
Engaging in Humor During Your Meetings 225
Encouraging affiliative humor 227
Squelching aggressive humor 227
Chapter 14 Stifling Bad Meeting Behaviors 229
Intervening When Dysfunctional Communication Occurs 231
Identifying bad meeting behaviors 232
Stopping bad behavior without derailing the meeting 234
Keeping Counterproductive Meeting Behaviors At Bay 236
Using good meeting behavior to edge out bad behavior 237
Rewarding good behavior and reining in bad behavior 239
Part 4 Making a Meeting Worthwhile - What to do after a Meeting 241
Chapter 15 Following Up Effectively 243
Creating and Recording an Action Plan 244
Summarizing decisions made 245
Listing action items 245
Delegating responsibilities 246
Making the Meeting Materials Accessible 247
Determining where to store meeting information 248
Sending out minutes 249
Being Available for Quick Clarification 249
Holding a brief follow up 250
Thinking about one-on-ones 252
Chapter 16 Evaluating Your Meeting Effectiveness 253
Soliciting Feedback 254
Creating a process for gathering feedback 255
Choosing what to measure 257
Using the Feedback 260
Sharing the results 261
Implementing changes based on feedback 261
Part 5 The Part of Tens 263
Chapter 17 Ten Things to Say to Move a Meeting Along 265
Killing Them with Kindness … and Moving On … 266
Rephrasing for Clarity 266
Closing the Door 267
Creating Order out of Chaos 267
Naming the Elephant in the Room 268
Being a Timekeeper 268
Protecting the Wellness of Your Team 268
Scheduling a New Conversation 269
Putting it in the Parking Lot 269
Using Team Code Words 270
Chapter 18 Ten Alternatives to Meeting in a Conference Room 271
Standing in the Conference Room 272
Gathering Around the Water Cooler 272
Meeting in Someone's Office 273
Doing an Offsite, Onsite 273
Taking it Outside 273
Walking and Talking 274
Heading to a Coffee Shop 274
Going to a Restaurant 275
Holding a Virtual Reality Meeting 275
Heading Down to the Railroad Tracks 276
Chapter 19 Ten Ways to Bolster Participation 277
Assigning Agenda Items to Other Attendees 277
Setting and Sticking to Ground Rules 278
Making Multitasking a No-no 278
Getting People to do Stuff … Regularly 279
Reading the Room 280
Cold Calling with Good Intention 280
Fostering a Speak-up Environment 281
Using Chat 281
Encouraging Webcam Use for All Remote Attendees 282
Asking for Help 282
Index 283
