Perfect Phrases for Meetings

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Contents

Chapter One

A supervisor may come to meetings with various goals. The supervisor may have a specific action plan to implement, in which case he or she needs subordinates to enthusiastically take on tasks to meet the supervisor's goals. Other times, a supervisor needs to obtain information about a situation, to work with his or her subordinates to respond to a crisis, or to try to improve communications within the team or throughout the organization.

As a supervisor, you will act differently in each type of meeting, and you need to use your opening remarks to quickly make your subordinates not only aware of the topic, but also of how you are approaching the meeting and what type of response you expect from them.

Always start your meeting by welcoming the participants, thanking them for attending, and, if necessary, introducing them or having them introduce themselves. This welcome and any introductions should be brief or you will have trouble re-establishing control.

Setting the Tone

You want to immediately establish the tone of the meeting so the participants understand how to act. You typically enter a meeting with the following purposes:

* Give direction or specific tasks to your subordinates.

* Disseminate information with some explanation.

* Acquire updates or information from your subordinates.

* Work interactively with a group of your subordinates and possibly their peers from other departments.

Your initial phrases should establish the tone of the meeting and your specific purposes.

INFORMATIONAL

State the nature of the information and the source.

* I have information from the accounting department about last month's financials that I'd like to share with the group.

* Our East Coast region has been picking up market intelligence about new pricing policies of our prime competitors.

* I've been tracking our production times, comparing them with our targets, and I wanted to share with you trends regarding our profitability.

TEAM BUILDING

People often perceive team-building meetings as an implication that the group is dysfunctional. Your opening comment should present the meeting as a positive, growth experience rather than as problem-solving exercise, while making it clear that you will be directing the meeting activities.

* I thought I'd break our routine and try something different today. An associate came across some materials that he thought might be fun for our group. As a bonus, these activities are supposed to help us improve our communication with each other.

* The company has come up with some new team-building tools that are designed to increase a group's productivity. I know many of you look skeptically at team building, but I felt that this was one that might really be productive.

PROBLEM SOLVING

You want to present the meeting as a forum for finding a solution, not a finger-pointing exercise. You want to ensure that the participants realize that you will keep the meeting moving forward and not let it go sideways.

* Many of you are aware of the problem we are having with [state the problem succinctly]. I'm looking for input from all of you to create a solution. While it is easy to point fingers at others, I feel all of us have an opportunity to contribute positively, and that is how we should focus our meeting.

* The problem of [state the problem] has been dumped in our laps. I feel our group has the experience and expertise to pull together a solution that we can take the lead in implementing. We need everyone's input and buy-in to succeed. So let's get started.

REQUEST FOR ACTION

You need action from your subordinates and you need to direct them to take action. It is best to start by justifying the action, which might be to meet your own needs or in response to a request by someone else. Your initial remarks should also make it clear there will be little discussion about the merit of the actions you are requesting.

* I feel we have a short-term opportunity to capitalize on [specify the opportunity] if we can move quickly. I've outlined an implementation plan that includes a part for all of you to play. Since time is short, we don't really have the luxury of considering other options, so, unless one of you spots a major error, we will be going with the plan I've outlined.

* I've been asked by top management to address our backorder situation. They have given me an outline of the steps they want implemented immediately. I've worked with [name person] to fill in the gaps from their suggestions and we have prepared an implementation plan that I'll pass out shortly. Look over your assignment and let me know if you have any questions.

TASK REVIEW

These meetings include progress reports, a presentation of a catch-up plan if any person is behind schedule, and a discussion of upcoming actions and any support needed. If there are any problems with tasks, I have found it best not to try and solve them at a task review meeting, but rather to schedule a problem-solving meeting. Your initial remarks should confine the meeting to a task review and a progress report.

* We are meeting to review the status of our tasks and projects, comparing our projected timetables with the initial plan, our future steps, and any corrective steps we might be taking. If warranted, we will schedule a problem-solving meeting for later.

* This meeting is to give everyone a snapshot view of where our projects stand and to identify projects that need help getting back on track.

Clarifying Expectations

You want every participant to know exactly what you expect him or her to do at the meeting or as a result of the meeting. It is your job to make this clear. In all the examples below, you will be setting expectations, so you should finish all of your comments on your expectations by soliciting a buy-in from the participants.

* Unless someone has an objection to the expectations, I'll proceed. (Then just wait five to ten seconds for comments.)

* If we can keep to our format and all of us agree to meet these expectations, I think we can end the meeting on schedule. Does anyone have any comments?

INFORMATIONAL

Typically you don't expect much interaction at an informational meeting, so you should state how you'd like the information to be used.

* This information is just to keep you abreast of some of the latest developments in the company. I don't anticipate it will require any action on your part.

* I suspect that some of you may want to adjust your action plans based on this information. If you do, please drop me a memo or e-mail about any adjustments you are making.

TEAM BUILDING

Your expectations should revolve around full participation in the exercise. You should acknowledge that participants might be reluctant to participate, but make it clear that they need to overcome their reluctance.

* I know each of you falls into a certain action mode during our meetings. I'm expecting each of you to leave that behavior behind and just follow the instructions for this exercise.

* Leaving our customary roles is always uncomfortable. I appreciate the fact you are willing to leave that comfort zone behind and participate 100 percent in our dialog today without any pre-judgment.

PROBLEM SOLVING

You have to clarify two items: one, whether you're going with a consensus decision or your decisions, and two, how you expect each participant to contribute during the meeting.

* I'd like to gather information from each of you before I decide what action we should take. Let's go around first and throw out whatever ideas you think we can try. Try to come up with new solutions no one has suggested already. Then we will go around a second time and you can each state which solution you prefer.

* I'd like to end up with a solution we can all buy into. But I don't want to jump to that conclusion before brainstorming some options; hopefully we can come up with a variety of options. Let's brainstorm for about 45 minutes before choosing the three or four you all feel offer the best chance of solving our problem.

REQUEST FOR ACTION

You should have already set some expectations in your opening statement that you are assigning participants actions they must take. But you should also ask each participant for some detail on how he or she will handle the assignment.

* What I'll give you is an outline of the action I need. I'll need each of you to send me by memo or e-mail a more detailed plan for executing your part by our deadline. Then we will have a timetable by which to judge our progress at our task review meetings.

* Please be absolutely sure you understand your task when we leave the meeting. If you have any concerns about not being able to complete your task in time, let me know by tomorrow and we can sit down and discuss the alternatives. Otherwise, I expect you'll develop and execute a plan to meet our deadline.

TASK REVIEW

You review tasks first to see if they are on schedule and then take advantage of what the participants know about the organization to see if there are areas where other members of the team can anticipate problems or help the person responsible for the task.

* We need to help each other out in this task review. All of us know different aspects of the organization, so please speak up if you see where this task might run into conflict with others or if you know of resources, including your own help, that can accelerate the task.

* I would like this to be a cooperative meeting where we use all our skills to expedite each task. If you see a problem the task might encounter, speak up. Definitely speak out if you can help the task move ahead or if you have suggestions of other help that can produce a better or faster result.

Stating the Expected Results

Since you're the boss, you need to make sure meetings are held for a purpose and conducted to produce meaningful results that benefit the organization and your group. So always tell the participants what results you expect from the meeting.

INFORMATIONAL

Typically you should state, as the result, the benefit to the participants.

* Hopefully we will all be able to use this information to coordinate our plans more effectively with other departments.

* Knowing our financial state should help you understand some of the directives I expect will be coming to us from corporate over the next six months.

TEAM BUILDING

While the result you want to see is better cooperation among the team members and possibly a better work environment, you still want to state the result in terms of the benefit to the individual employee.

* The result I'm hoping for is that after the meeting we can see how we can enjoy our work environment a little more, and when things go wrong how we can keep our frustration levels down.

* I believe these exercises will help each of us project ourselves to others in a way that will enhance career growth and generate a positive response from others that will make it easier for us to do our everyday tasks.

PROBLEM SOLVING

In some meetings you are just starting the problem-solving process, other times you are finishing up your action plan, or are in the middle of the problem-solving process. Your remarks should be clear about where in the process you expect to be once the meeting is complete.

* This is our first meeting addressing this issue [be specific]. I expect that we will identify two or three action plans to investigate for solving the problem and by next week we should be able to come back and finalize an action plan.

* This is the last meeting I hope to have addressing this problem. We need to come out of the meeting with a final action plan that we can start implementing in the next ten days.

REQUEST FOR ACTION

You expect people to know what action to take after the meeting and then to start acting immediately.

* I need for each of you to understand your tasks and keep to the timetable I'll be presenting shortly. Let me know after the meeting if you have any questions about what is expected of you.

* I've brought you together as a group rather than meet with you individually so that you understand each other's assignments and can help rather than hinder one another's efforts. I'd also like each of you after the meeting to e-mail a more specific action plan to your fellow members in order to facilitate cooperation.

TASK REVIEW

Task reviews should be interactive meetings that help the participants do their tasks more effectively. Again, try to cast the result in terms of the benefit for the participant presenting the review.

* Hopefully each person or group presenting an update will be able to take advantage of the resources of our group in a constructive way to improve their action plan. If any of you receive any input that you will incorporate into your efforts, I'd like you to send the rest of us a short e-mail about the modifications to your action plan.

* As you present your reviews, point out areas where you would like to solicit input from others for new ideas or suggestions for improvement. The meeting is valuable only if each participant receives some help for his or her project.

Chapter Two

You may be making a presentation at the meeting or be in charge of a meeting at which others give presentations. Either way you need to take charge and control the meeting, which you can do primarily by clearly communicating so the participants know how to respond. You'll find it is difficult to keep control of a meeting if you don't preview the presentations that others will make and then prepare comments regarding the presentations, the actions you feel are necessary, and the type of interaction you expect from the group.

Reinforcing Your Take

Since you are the supervisor and the participants are your subordinates, you will have the final say in actions that occur as a result of the meeting. While you don't want to stifle dissent, you can sway people to your view and avoid endless discussion by simply giving your impression of the presentation before it starts. That gives the participants a framework to follow while they listen to the presentation. If the presentation will be given by someone else, you can start with a short statement indicating you have been able to review the data.

* I've had a chance to review the presentation.

* I talked with [name the presenter] before the meeting.

* I asked [name the presenter] to prepare this information for you.

INFORMATIONAL

Tell the group before the presentation how you feel about the news—good, bad, or somewhere in between—and also how this information will be useful to them.

* I think you'll agree that we must be doing many things right to generate the positive results you'll see. I think you'll all want to build on our momentum by continuing with the same or similar programs over the next six months.

* This information shows some disturbing trends that indicate that we are falling behind. As you hear the information, consider how any assumptions you may have made for your current programs may be impacting these results.

TEAM BUILDING

Employees often take a dim view of team-building meetings, so you have to present the meeting in a positive light first and then show a real benefit to the group.

* I've talked with people who've had an opportunity to use this program and they said it surpassed all their expectations.

* I've never seen a communications program that has gathered anywhere near the positive feedback as this one.

PROBLEM SOLVING

The participants will know the nature of the problem when they receive the agenda in advance of the meeting. You need to comment before the presentation about the seriousness of the problem and also on how quickly the problem must be addressed.

* This problem has been a nagging source of problems for our service groups for over six months and it has caused quite a bit of friction among our companies. While we have other, more pressing problems, I'd like to see us put this problem to rest within the next 60 days.

* This quality issue that [name the presenter] will address is causing a loss of confidence in our dealer network that could snowball on us. We are going to need an action plan to present to key stakeholders within ten days.

REQUEST FOR ACTION

You should have given a justification for the action in your opening remarks and outlined the response you expect from the group, so you have already strongly reinforced your take on the situation. Here you can emphasize how serious the situation is.

* My presentation is brief and has gaps that I would normally fill, but I feel our push to act was so strong that I wanted to pull you all together as soon as possible.

* I've taken the time to add a great deal of information to the presentation to be sure everyone understands the seriousness of the problem and also to help everyone in the group act cooperatively.

TASK REVIEW

Typically, presenters offer a rosy view of their progress during task reviews. This is a good time to state how you feel the tasks are going, in order to help those responsible avoid a last-minute rush that typically makes a project less effective.

* This project looks like it is becoming back-end-loaded. If it isn't turned around, [name the presenter] might need some help so the last-minute rush doesn't become a panic.

* I'm considering dropping this project and concentrating our efforts on tasks that are on schedule. Otherwise we could end up hurting other key projects while trying to bring this one up to speed.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Perfect Phrases for Meetingsby Don Debelak Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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