Meeting Management in Business Etiquettes

Most organisations encourage people to work in teams and they do so in meetings. The dynamics of a team meeting are quite different from that of a one-on-one meeting. It involves multiple individuals, each with their own style of communication. Besides this, there is power play and undercurrents, which impact the overall outcome. However, when it concerns a team meeting, you should keep these factors aside and plan and prepare for communicating in a group meeting as it has a great impact on your career. Communication is the most important thread in a meeting to exchange ideas and be aligned to a common objective.

In this segment, Rakesh will discuss the elements of business meetings, the dos and don'ts of online as well as offline meetings, and the ways in which you can improve your performance at these meetings. So, let’s get started.

Great! That was an insightful video. Let’s summarise the key learnings from this segment:

• Business meetings refer to a setup where a group of people come together with clear objectives and agendas to be discussed and performed at a stipulated time.
• In any meeting, an individual has to fulfil certain roles that are integral to those meetings. They are as follows:
  • Participation - Actively engage with other members present in the meeting and be prepared to take notes. Avoid multitasking in a corporate meeting and remember to speak clearly.
  • Speak up - The very essence of a meeting is communicating and engaging with other people openly and confidently. Therefore, you will not be able to showcase your skills by keeping quiet, and this could hamper your career. It is important for you to overcome your social anxiety and start talking to people.
  • Execution - Carry out all the processes and activities mentioned in the meeting effectively and track the progress.
  • Comfort - Try to comfort all the participants of the meeting, especially the quiet ones. This action will help them feel included and more comfortable and will encourage them to actively participate in the meeting.
• Online meetings have become a significant part of corporate meetings in today's globalised world, as the participants might be sitting in different regions or countries. Hence, it is essential for you to become well acquainted with the dos and don'ts of online meetings. These are as follows: 
  • Always keep your computer/laptop on mute when you are not speaking so as to avoid any unwanted disturbance
  • Ensure that your background is professional. Therefore, it is important to take care of your surroundings and make sure that you are seated at a presentable place
  • Dress up professionally to make a good impression. This often reflects your interest in the meeting and your motivation to work
  • Speak slowly and clearly because in online meetings, internet and bandwidth issues are a common occurrence and people may often not be able to hear your speech properly. To avoid any breaks or disturbances, it is best to speak slowly and in a professional and appropriate tone
• It is also important that you ask questions at the right time in the meetings. You must listen to the speakers attentively while also achieving the objectives of the meetings

All the aforementioned guidelines will help you to conduct meaningful meetings.
The next segment will focus on the pertinence and best practises of work ethics.

Additional Resources:

• Nine Common-Sense Rules for Getting the Most Out of Meetings
• Bad Emails and Meetings_How to Stop Wasting Colleagues’ Time – WSJ
• 5 Tips for Running a Web Conference - Allied Telecom
• Running an Effective Teleconference or Virtual Meeting | CIO