90 minute, half & full day workshops

Effective Meeting Skills
Training Courses

Given how much time and how many people are invested in meetings - how can you make them more effective?

Given the resources invested, meetings should produce a high return on investment (RoI) to justify the cost. Yet this is rarely the case: most people are frustrated by the high number of meetings (quantity) and their low productivity (quality). What if we reversed these metrics - reduced the number, and increased productivity? These training courses will show you how...

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Managing Effective Meetings Workshop Content

Meeting structure & process

A questionnaire to identify the three key factors that make the difference to meeting success, providing a checklist and key documents to help you plan and run an effective meeting.

Meeting roles & behaviour

Two of the main problems common to meetings is lack of role clarity - who is responsible for what - and inappropriate behaviours. These workshops will provide ways of minimising both these problems.

Chairing skills

A skillful Chair can make a big difference to a meeting - particularly if the meeting is large and behaviours are difficult to manage. These training courses will identify and allow for the development of such skills.

Techniques for running successful meetings

Some helpful 'tips of the trade' that the chair and members can use to build and maintain the meeting's effectiveness.

Virtual meetings

An important part of the 'new normal’ for most people…how do they differ from typical meetings, and what changes are necessary, from the Chair and members, to make them effective.

Who is effective meeting skills training for?

Our meeting skills training courses are ideal for anyone who wishes to learn how to make meetings more productive, effective and enjoyable. They are particularly relevant for anyone who wants to:

 - learning outcome Clarify who is responsible for what.
 - learning outcome Use an appropriate meeting structure and set of processes.
 - learning outcome Have key skills and techniques to manage any meeting effectively, including managing difficulties that might arise.
 - learning outcome Develop the skills and processes necessary to run a virtual meeting effectively.

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Managing Effective Meetings Workshop Activities

The 90-minute training course will provide a questionnaire and checklist that will help you identify the key factors that, if present, make an effective meeting more likely. The three most important factors are dealt with in more detail in the half day programme, including discussing the role of the Chair, and the key skills and techniques that make that role more effective. The full day workshop in addition will run a number of short meetings, to enable participants to try out the learning from the morning session.

Never 'death by powerpoint'

We always provide a variety of learning approaches in each of our workshops.

Each workshop typically includes learning input from the trainer, supported by a range of mixed media, interactive elements, discussion and group work. Most workshops also include case work and practical skill-development activities to apply the learning, with more time dedicated to this in the longer courses.

'Want more?' resource pack

In addition to providing a copy of any slide deck, we always provide a ‘want more’ section, of curated resources including book summaries, podcasts, downloads and articles.

role play & simulation
self-assessment questionnaire
paired activities
core learning input
learning recap quiz
action learning set
facilitation
your ideas & suggestions
My attention can easily wander, but this was never the case here, largely due to the variety of learning approaches used. Never a dull moment!

What are the benefits of effective meeting skills training?

Meetings that run more smoothly and productively
Improved personal confidence & competence for the Chair
Create a toolkit of key chairing skills and techniques
Improved commitment to attending and contributing by meeting members

Meeting Skills Training Frequently Asked Quesitons

Are there different approaches to meeting management?

Yes - two of the most common are leading meetings and facilitating meetings. They can both be appropriate in different circumstances, so it is important to be clear about the meeting context and the preferred management style...and of course a good meeting manager or Chair should be able to adapt as required.

What are the most common difficulties faced in meetings?

Too many to mention all of them here, but our top 5 would be: attitude and behaviour of members; poor chairing skills; an overloaded agenda; an unclear agenda; and poor time management.

How can I assess the effectiveness of any meeting?

It ought to be 'to what extent has the meeting delivered its intended outcomes?' This of course requires the outcomes to be known, clear and agreed before the meeting starts.

As a novice, which of the three effective meeting skills training courses should I attend?

All three training courses will help; the 90-minute course gives you a clear indication of the key factors that affect how successful the meeting is, so you have a clear checklist to guide you and assess how any current meeting matches that list; the half day option focuses on identifying and developing the key processes, skills and techniques, and the full day provides the opportunity to practice them in work-relevant scenarios.

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For workshops and coaching sessions, you can check availability & book using the form below. Pay now online, or later by invoice - it's up to you.