Tips For Conducting Successful Meetings

If you've ever attended a meeting that was "painful," you will certainly appreciate the following tips.  Enjoy and put them into practice.

1.)  PREPARE - Consult with the Secretary and other officers PRIOR to the meeting.  Phone calls and emails are great tools to help you prepare.  Walk-in with a "game plan" and execute it.  Nobody wants to see you "fly by the seat of your pants."

2.)  Be On Time - If the leader isn't on time, the meeting won't start on time.  Show respect to your officers and members by arriving early and starting the meeting on time.  Time is a valuable commodity in our lives.

3.)  Follow an Order of Business - As a general rule, the bylaws of an organization include an order of business to be followed during a meeting.  If you don't have one, make one.  Systematically moving a meeting from one item to another will keep the meeting timely and on track.

4.)  State Objectives at the Beginning - If there are particular items that must be addressed or that will require a lot of time, state it up front.  Example:  "We need to discuss this weekend's fund raising event and nail down the details."

5.)  Pace the Meeting - Don't rush and don't linger on any topic.  Set a pace using your order of business.

6.)  Be Objective - As the leader, maintain "neutrality" in discussions.  Make sure that both sides of any issue are heard and understood.

7.)  End on a Positive Note - At the conclusion of every meeting, review what has been accomplished, what has been "laid over" and what remains to be done.