• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Right Attitudes

Ideas for Impact

How to Prepare for Meetings

October 26, 2006 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Preparing to Attend Meetings

Preparing to Attend MeetingsMeetings are important organizational tools. Whether as one-on-one conversations or as larger all-employee information sharing sessions, meetings are integral components of getting work done. Despite some obvious benefits, most meetings are not very productive and are longer than necessary. One of the primary reasons for the lower productivity of meetings is that attendees come unprepared.

Assume you have consented to attend a meeting because your participation is critical to the objective of the meeting. What questions will you ask to prepare for the meeting?

  • Have I read the meeting agenda? What is the objective of the meeting? What is my role? How will I contribute to the meeting?
  • What segment of the meeting is relevant to me? Can I join late or leave early if I am not required throughout the length of the meeting?
  • Is this a follow-up to a previous meeting? What action items had I agreed on then? What results will I present? What questions will arise?
  • What relevant pre-reading material should I seek?
  • What research do I need to do? Whom on my team should I talk to regarding items on the agenda?
  • Attending MeetingsWhat is the desirable outcome? What is the undesirable outcome? Is there a compromise?
  • What positions am I prepared to take on key issues being discussed in this meeting? What facts and charts will I present to support my position?
  • Who are the other attendees? What positions are they likely to take on key issues? Why? What are the likely group dynamics: who will support me, who will oppose my positions? What counter arguments will I present?
  • What other attendees should I talk to prior to the meeting to garner support to my position? Can I invite additional attendees to the meeting to help support my position? How will I persuade other people to see my point of view?
  • What action items am I willing to take? Do I have the necessary resources? Will I participate in follow-up meetings, if scheduled?

Meetings are all about sharing thoughts in a collective setting. They are only as good as the ideas that attendees bring to the discussions. By asking the above questions, you will contribute to focused, productive meetings. You owe it to yourself, the meeting leaders and to your fellow-attendees.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. Don’t Underestimate Others’ Willingness to Help
  2. Many Creative People Think They Can Invent Best Working Solo
  3. The Curse of Teamwork: Groupthink
  4. Remembering Names at a Meeting
  5. How to Stop “Standing” Meetings from Clogging Up Your Time

Filed Under: Managing People, Sharpening Your Skills Tagged With: Meetings

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About: Nagesh Belludi [hire] is a St. Petersburg, Florida-based freethinker, investor, and leadership coach. He specializes in helping executives and companies ensure that the overall quality of their decision-making benefits isn’t compromised by a lack of a big-picture understanding.

Get Updates

Signup for emails

Subscribe via RSS

Contact Nagesh Belludi

Explore

Anxiety Attitudes Balance Biases Books Coaching Conflict Conversations Creativity Critical Thinking Decision-Making Discipline Emotions Entrepreneurs Etiquette Feedback Getting Along Getting Things Done Goals Great Manager Leadership Leadership Lessons Likeability Mental Models Mentoring Mindfulness Motivation Networking Parables Performance Management Persuasion Philosophy Problem Solving Procrastination Relationships Simple Living Skills for Success Social Skills Stress Thinking Tools Thought Process Time Management Winning on the Job Wisdom Worry

RECOMMENDED BOOK:
How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: Russ Roberts

EconTalk podcast host Russ Roberts on how morality comes from imagining being judged by our fellow man. A rendition of Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments.

Categories

  • Announcements
  • Belief and Spirituality
  • Business Stories
  • Career Development
  • Effective Communication
  • Great Personalities
  • Health and Well-being
  • Ideas and Insights
  • Inspirational Quotations
  • Leadership
  • Leadership Reading
  • Leading Teams
  • Living the Good Life
  • Managing Business Functions
  • Managing People
  • MBA in a Nutshell
  • Mental Models
  • News Analysis
  • Personal Finance
  • Podcasts
  • Project Management
  • Proverbs & Maxims
  • Sharpening Your Skills
  • The Great Innovators

Recently,

  • Deliver The Punchline First
  • The Tyranny of Best Practices
  • Inspirational Quotations #944
  • What Most People Get Wrong About Focus
  • Get Good At Things By Being Bad First
  • Inspirational Quotations #943
  • Learning from Bad Managers

Unless otherwise stated in the individual document, the works above are © Nagesh Belludi under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. You may quote, copy and share them freely, as long as you link back to RightAttitudes.com, don't make money with them, and don't modify the content. Enjoy!