Confidence Skills: How to keep control of meetings
Confidence skills are needed if you are to chair a meeting. You need to have the confidence to keep people under control, to keep people on the topic and to ensure the right decisions are made. Confidence skills are a real bonus in all these areas.
How many meetings have you attended that have been boring, a waste of time or dragged on too long? Probably many. You need to have plenty of self-confidence to ensure this does not happen in your meetings.
One of the ways to boost your confidence skills is to know exactly what you need to do as the Chair. Few people who chair meetings get any training on how to chair them effectively. Yet as a confident and skilled Chairwoman you can make an enormous difference to whether meetings are conducted effectively or not, and whether you retain control over them.
For the past three years I have been spending time helping groups and organisations to run more effective meetings. I have been privileged to sit in on live meetings with managers and executives, to coach during the meetings, and then to run feedback sessions with everyone afterwards.
Over time it has become clear that there are many tips that can boost your confidence as the Chair and help you stay in control of meetings. I will list five of them for you.
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Confidence skills: Five tips to stay in control of meetings.
Confidence skills tip 1: Clarify the specific purpose for each meeting.
Many meetings only have vague reasons for the people meeting together. How can you be confident in what you are doing if you, or the other participants, don't know the exact reason for the meeting? When you have a very clear and specific purpose for the meeting your confidence can take a big step forward. At least you know what you are trying to achieve. When you know this you will be more alert to people going off topic and be able to bring them back to task quickly.
Start each meeting by reminding people of the purpose of the meeting and people will presume you are really confident and know exactly what you are doing!
Confidence skills tip 2: Have an agenda.
When you decide in advance what will be covered you can be confident in knowing the sequence that the meeting will follow. I know it is hard to believe but there are still some meetings that have no agenda.
When you send out the agenda in advance it will also help everyone attending to have the confidence skills they need to contribute thoughtfully to the meeting. Knowing in advance what will be covered and what will be expected can boost anyone's confidence. It can also help you keep people focused.
Confidence skills tip 3: Make the agenda items specific.
One of the hardest skills for the Chair is to be able to confidently keep people on topic and moving quickly from one topic to the next. One step in helping you to do this is to make the agenda items specific. Many agendas I see are very general and this means that the discussion is not focused.
Your confidence will increase again if you and the group know the exact point to be discussed and, when relevant, the decision that is to be made with regard to it.
For example, instead of writing an agenda item such as, "1.1. Photocopier problems" say what aspect of the equipment you are discussing, why and what is required. For example, it might say, "Photocopier breakdown: Should we repair it for $900 or buy a new one for $2368?"
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Confidence skills tip 4: Explain the specific purpose for your agenda item.
When you move to a new agenda item direct the meeting participants to its specific purpose. Direction from the Chair is important to help focus people at a meeting. It will also help you stay focused and this, in itself, can help maintain your confidence.
For example, you might say, something along the lines of:
1. "On this item I want you to ...".
2. "What's important here is ...".
3. "I've put this on the agenda because ..."
Confidence skills tip 5: Control who speaks and when.
I see many kinds of responses in meetings. Some people talk a lot, some say nothing, and others mumble off to the side. Seldom is there a balance. It is up to the Chair to encourage all participants to be involved.
How can you have the confidence to do this? As the Chair, think of yourself as the conductor of an orchestra. You conduct the people by giving them turns, inviting them to comment, and keeping some quiet while others speak.
When people are quiet invite them to contribute. Rather than saying to them, "Do you have anything to add" or "Do you want to make a comment?", say something along the lines of, "What are you making of all this?" or "What are your thoughts on this?". Simply knowing what to say and how to say it can be a confidence booster.
If the discussion is heading nowhere, going round in circles, or becoming repetitive, you can comment on this so that people return to topic. Your statements may be quite short and clear, e.g. "We are going around in circles", or "We need to move to the next item".
Want more confidence at work? Take a look at the 2 CD set: "Confidence for women at work" and get the input of 7 great women.
You also need to have the confidence and skills to bring the group to a decision.
It is up to you, as the Chair, to close the discussion on a useful point. You can do this by giving a brief summary statement of the person's point or summarising the key point agreed to.
It could be a comment such as, "So we have agreed in principle that ..." or "Shirley has proposed that we ... all those in favour please raise your hands."
When you prepare as to how you will conduct the meeting, and you know what your role is, and what to say, your confidence skills will increase. And so will your effectiveness as the Chair. This in turn will boost your confidence skills.
Written by Rachel Green. Motivational Speaker | Communication Specialist | Emotional Intelligence Coach.
Rachel is the author of the 2 CD set: "Confidence for women at work". Click here to get your copy so you too can be a confident woman.
She also can provide you and your staff with seminars on "Assertion skills", and "Self-confidence at work". Book her now: rachel@confident-woman.com.au
Copyright Confident Woman Australia, 2010.
NB: Any information contained on this site is not provided as an alternative to the obtaining of professional advice from an appropriately qualified practitioner.
Rachel Green
Reader Comments (3)
Rachel.
Lynn
Sometimes, though, if the Chair does NOT control the meeting well and "conduct the orchestra" it is hard for people who are naturally quiet, lack confidence, or are introverted to join in and have their say.
It is also hard for those who may be feeling intimidated. It can also be hard for new people to have their say as they may not understand, or may feel uncomfortable with, the politics that are going on.
Finally some people, if they are not controlled by the Chair, can dominate a meeting and these people can also make it very difficult for others to participate. This situation is worse if they are in positions of authority and senior to others in the group.
There are many reasons people may not speak out. It is the Chair who has the power, authority and control to help rectify all these situations and make it easy for everyone to be involved.
Sometimes I have seen an unskilled Chair blame the participants when really with a more skilled Chair, and more pauses for people to speak into, everyone may have felt more confident joining in.
It isn't easy being the Chair!
Rachel.