Effective Meeting Guidelines

There are ways to communicate that ensure more enjoyment and more effective results. Your Team may want to set communication agreements right at the beginning and have them posted for your meetings. Agreements might include: 

• Listen well, don’t interrupt.
• Focus on understanding what the other person is saying, rather than arguing about it.
• Take your fair turn in a discussion; make sure everyone has time to speak.
• Encourage quieter people to get involved in the discussion.
• Decide if your discussion is a brainstorm or a decision-making conversation. 

  • Brainstorm: All ideas are listened to and noted, without judging, editing, or assessing. Ideas are listed for all to see and consider. No discussion is held about the merits of the ideas. It is an open free time to explore and experiment. There may be some structure to ensure the ideas stay within the goal of the discussion and of course are not hurtful to others.
  • Decision-making: After the brainstorm, ideas are prioritized and weighed. Discussion may be held about the viability or value of an idea. Decisions are made about who is going to do what, and by when.