Group Communication

Effective Meeting Management is a an essential Business

Communication Tool

Reasons for Meetings

To accept reports
To reach a group decision or judgment
To analyze and solve problems
To gain acceptability for an idea program or decision
To achieve a training objective
To reconcile conflicting views
To communicate essential information to the group

To relive tension or insecurity by providing information and management

view point
To ensure that every one has the same understanding of information
To obtain quick reactions
To reactivate a stalled project
To demonstrate a product or system
To generate new ideas or concepts

Common Complaints about meeting

Complaints about planning

No agenda
Wrong people were invited
Time of the meeting is inconvenient
Room was too small
Audio visual equipment was not working
Meeting rooms were not set up properly

Complaints about leadership

Agenda was not followed
Leader was domineering and imposed personal views.
Leader was weak and failed to control the group
Did not facilitate communication among group members

Complaints about meeting outcomes

Decision not implemented
Assigned tasks to participants not done
Recommendations are not passed on
Finding are ignored

Planning meeting
What is the objective of the meeting?
Who should attend the meeting?
When and where the meeting should the meeting be held?

What material, equipment, refreshments and room layout will be

required for the meeting?
What should the agenda be?

An effective agenda should include

Time of the meeting
Length of the meeting
Location
List of participants
Subject
Background information
Items to be covered
Pre-meeting preparation

Leading the meeting

Starting time
Opening remarks

Getting to business
Participation
Agenda

Closing

Effective meeting outcomes

Develop a meeting action plan/ Minutes of the meeting (MOM)
List assigned tasks to participants with expected completion dates
List key issues discussed- Agreements reached

Announce the next meeting

Media Management
Press release

Press conference
Media interview

Press Release
Standard PR Tool
Effective if prepared and delivered properly

Preparing Press Releases- Rules

Present sufficient news
News must be real
News must have local interest
Use direct messages
Avoid buzzwords, jargon
Give all required mechanical elements
The appearance must be flawless
Customize your release to different media

Press Conference
Determine whether it is necessary
Pick the right location
Choose the right time
Be prepared

Media Interviews
Preview the circumstances
Prepare for the interviews
Oral practice for the interview
Techniques for the day
Post interview evaluation

Seminar
involves discussion on a particular subject and there is an agenda for it, it
may be a business conference in house or with clients on project progress
etc.
Workshops
involves both theory and practice. People actively participate in it. It is a
learning process.
Conferences
is a lecture session while one gives the lecture, participants listen to it and
may ask questions at the end of the lecture to clear any doubts. There
would be high tea / lunch at the end.
Business Etiquettes