You’ve probably been to meetings where you wondered what you had ever done to deserve the tortures of sitting through a horrendous meeting. I have.

Just recently I found myself committed to helping on a fund-raiser. I dutifully attended the meeting with a presentation offering nearly twenty creative ways to market the fund raising event. I was prepared for the meeting, but I wasn’t prepared for the chaos.

The meeting seemed like a free-for-all and it went on and on. I began to think, “Why am I here,” and “How can I get out of here?” I gave everyone two sheets of paper containing my ideas and began addressing each one. I don’t think I made it past the first one, before the conversation was off on a different tangent. I had to keep dragging everyone back to the information at hand.

When I left, I was not happy. I resolved to accomplish one of the ideas that could be done by me without anyone else’s help. I never attended any more meetings. My greatest triumph was in resisting the urge to scream, “Can’t you run a meeting better than this?”

Since joining clubs in high school, I’ve known about Robert’s Rules of Order, which brings order to meetings and protects the rights of individuals. Knowledge of this effective tool is essential. I don’t think any of the committee members had ever heard of it. Also, it looked like no one knew how to prepare for a meeting . . . and these were all business people. I was shocked.

I would have liked to have taken them aside and explained about meetings. One of my favorite training videos is called Meetings, Bloody Meetings and it stars John Cleese. It’s fun to watch and a it’s a great training tool.

    “Too many meetings are genuine nightmares. They lack preparation, direction, and worst of all, results. This award-winning program is essential viewing for anyone who chairs meetings. You'll learn how to make your get-togethers shorter, more focused, and more productive. And John Cleese ensures you get plenty to laugh at along the way.”
    -- copy for Meetings, Bloody Meetings.

Key learning points from Meetings, Bloody Meetings are:

1) Plan meetings in advance
2) Prepare a detailed agenda
3) Pre-notify attendees
4) Control the discussion
5) Summarize and record decisions

These key learning points are useful elements for anyone involved in committee work, even if you don’t use the training video.

Planning meetings in advance means more that just setting a date and inviting people. Planning means figuring out what is going to take place: what ground you will cover, what needs to be decided, and what reports will be heard. These items should be added into your detailed agenda with approximate times allotted for reports. This agenda should be sent to each member in advance of the meeting. At the meeting the chairman controls the discussion, making sure that everyone has a chance to speak, and that all aspects of the planned agenda are addressed. The following day a summary should be sent to each participant. Doesn’t that sound easy?

Committee meetings should never be so structured that they stifle meaningful discussion and the flow of ideas, but they should not put you to sleep, nor drive you away, either. Meetings don’t have to be Bloody Meetings. Good meetings not only deliver results; they are a pleasure to attend.

Author Don Doman: Don is a published author of books for small business, corporate video producer, and owner of Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which provides business training products. Don also owns Human Resources Radio (http://www.humanresourcesradio.com), which provides business training programs and previews 24-hours a day.

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