Documentation, objectives, and principles

Preparatory documentation

A meeting must be planned, recorded and documented for it to be successful. Fleming (2020) mentions some of the essential tools for the correct development of the meeting:

• It helps record the decisions made and the topics discussed.

• The secretary is the one responsible for keeping track of this and who should distribute the document to all members.

​Minutes

• Includes the date, time and place of the meeting, the participants, and a list of what to discuss and accomplish.

• ​Its purpose is to give structure to the meeting, outlining the topics to be discussed.

Agendas

• Used when planning a project.

• Help detailing the schedule in a clear way.

• Show what tasks are complete and which ones are not.

​Gantt charts

• A document which allows to keep track of what work is done, by whom and how long it will take.

Work logs

Establishing objectives

In a meeting, the parties involved may have different objectives to achieve or topics to discuss, which should be included in the meeting agenda. For this reason, it is important to know what some of these objectives are. According to Quain (2019), this can be:

• When thinking of changing certain aspects of the business, the owner must consult the idea with management board members and stakeholders.

• They will evaluate the circumstances and decide.

​Making decisions

• It is impossible to avoid running into issues that can hold back the business.

• It is not necessary to hold a meeting each time a problem arises.

• Work together to find a solution.

Solving problems

• The meetings with this objective are not as formal and structured as others.

• The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible for new products, services or marketing campaigns.

​Brainstorming

• Meetings provide the status of the company's projects not only to inform the staff, but also to identify challenges and obstacles to reach the goals.

Providing updates

• These types of meetings should be held after identifying weaknesses in the staff.

• Fun and entertaining activities that encourage communication between the staff members are recommended to boost team morale and improve the team's performance.

Building team morale

Principles and key stages

When meetings are held, there should be a logical order to follow. According to Jay (1982), two stages can be considered:

1. Constructing options to tackle the objective.

2. Once a group of options has been laid on the table, start discussing based on a number of criteria elements until it is possible to choose one of the suggestions.

Taking this into consideration, it is possible to conclude the chairperson's job is dealing with both the subject and the people.

When dealing with the subject

• The chairperson must give a short introduction explaining what needs to be resolved or proposed, and make the objectives clear.

• In order to prevent misunderstandings and confusion, the chairperson also needs to monitor carefully, seeking clarification and asking for advice from experienced participants.

• By the end of the meeting, the chairperson must give a small summary of what has been agreed on to make sure everyone's on the same page.

When dealing with people

• First, make sure no time is wasted; the meeting must start at the agreed time, and contributions should be as brief as possible.

• Paying attention to silence is important since it can mean general agreement, or even shyness or hostility. In the case of shyness, the chairperson should express interest in hearing the contributions. When it comes to hostility, it is important for the chairperson to note the reason behind this hostility.

Principles and key stages

Finally, the organizer must also know the significance of seating positions, for instance:

a) Sitting face-to-face opens the door for conflict and disagreement.

b) Sitting side by side makes confrontation harder.

c) Proximity next to the chairperson means a higher rank, honor and favor.

Likewise, members contributions should also be reinforced. For this, the chairperson should make sure that all attendees know that each contribution is valuable, and encourage the flow and clash of ideas always avoiding conflict.