Ten Tips for Staying Awake
Meetings are an evil fact of life in Corporate America. Sitting through them can be hard enough, but when you're running a meeting it's just as difficult to speak to a room full of snoozing salespeople. Here are some tips for managers hoping to engage their salespeople during meetings from Eli Mina, author of The Complete Handbook of Business Meetings:
- Give each member a lead role on a selected agenda item such as when he/she will make a presentation or facilitate a discussion. No member should be allowed to sit back and observe a meeting.
- Avoid hot and heavy meals just before a meeting. Instead, choose a light and healthy snack. Alcoholic drinks should definitely be avoided.
- Avoid scheduling too many substantive issues in a row by interspersing light agenda items between them. Members need time.
- Schedule short breaks regularly. There should be no more than two hours of continuous sitting.
- Invite guests to speak on interesting subjects related to your group's meeting agenda.
- Avoid having the meeting dominated by the same outspoken members by encouraging others to speak.
- Instead of waiting for members to raise their hands, call on them to comment.
- Encourage members to express different opinions by breaking the meeting into smaller focus groups handling a key task or issue.
- Prevent rambling and monotonous statements by asking members to communicate concisely.
- Establish time limits on presentations and ask speakers to avoid lecture mode. Instead, encourage them to make their presentations interactive and to include interesting examples and case studies.
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