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Effective Meetings. . . Hutu/um] from page S ' supporting each other and listening to u hat l\ being said. ' sharing the leadership at a meeting: - InlCHL‘l’llng when people are arguing and summarizing key points; ' admitting when you are [081 or unnluxed: 0 making decolons based on facts. not emotions or personal opinions. s Is Your Meeting Space Sortable? Assess the meeting room. Some rooms are designed to turn effective itieetings into tncffectitc meetings. Does the room haw proper lighting. venttla “tin. and equtpmcnt'! Are the Chairs uncomlitrmblu. or [00 comfortable? sometimes a change of location can break the lL't.‘ or put people at ease. t) Does the (Jump Pa) Attention to How They Are Working Together? To prevent history from repeating itself. successful groups evaluate their meetings, discover how people are working together. and identify issues. Evaluation is done by: 0 written feedback identifying strengths and weaknesses of the group: - stopping the meeting and asking "how are we doing?"; ' and. asking an outsider to observe a meeting in progress and provide feedback. Whatever method is used. each memâ€" ber has a responsibility to contribute. And it is the responsibility of the chair person to ask for feedback. 10. Are a Variety of Group Sizes Used? How many times have you been stuck sitting at a meeting for hours as a group of 10 or more? Frequently. more can be accomplished. and in a more enjoyable way. by breaking into smaller groups (for example. committees, buzz groups or small informal discussion groups of 5 or 6 people) for shorter periods of time. This works well for agenda items that need a lot of discu55ion. for identi. fying alternatives or detail planning. As well. it adds variety to meetings All groups go through various stages and growmg pains as they form, deveiop and work together for the betterment of the entire organization. If you answered “Yes” to the alum: 10 questions â€" Congratulations. \itur meetings are effective! ' Nancy Larmer is a rural leadership consultant with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Guelph." VOS reunions. . . .u/iluiut' t/t‘ fit [lump 9 thangcmcnt dc local pcut Contrihuer a hi'ixcr la glut-c ct menrc les gens ii I‘aise. U Li.- prnupc s'intercsseilrtl a son lonumnncmenl‘,’ Pour cviter dc repetcr les crrcurs du Passe. It's groupcs qui ont Llu succcs L'HJILIL'lil lcurs reunions. examincnt leur lllClhltLiL‘\ dc travail L‘E ccrnent Ies prohlumus L't‘vttltlalton consile notamtncni ‘ a premise-r par Cunt ICs forces ct lhlhlt‘sscs dU groupc; ' a mtcrroutprc les diseassions pour inturrogcr IL'h participants sur lt: dcroulcincnl tic la reunion; I a latte appul a uric personnu dc l'cxr tcrusur pour observer le deroulemcnt d'unc reunion ct l'airc part de scs mtntncntuirus. Qucllc quc smt la mc‘thodc uliliséc. cthun menihri: doit contribucr. Quant nu president d‘assemble’c. il est dc son devoir d'obtcnir lcs reactions des parti~ Cipdl‘lih. 10. Variez-vous la taille des groupes? Dans les groupes de 10 personnes ou plus. combien de fois avez-vous été t'orcés d‘assister a des réunions intermi- nables? On peut souvent accomplir plus de travail en moins de temps, et de faqon plus agreeable, en se divisant en petits groupes lpar exemple. en comités, groupes dc re’flexion ou petits groupes dc travail dc cinq ou six personnes). C‘cst unc méthode efficace pour ap- profondir un point a l‘ordre du jour, discuter longuement d‘un sujet, examiner ties solutions do rechange ou fairc ine planification détaillée. La misc sur pied d’un organism nu son développement, passe par din mes étapes et chaque groupe connaii lcs difficultés de croissance. Si vous avez- répondu “oui” am lix questions susmentionnées, nous vni cl! félicitons car vos reunions sont Cfflk.‘ cs. Nancy Larmer est conseill‘erc an animation rurale aupres du minisu-m de I’Agl'iculture et tie I’Alimentnnnn de l'Ontario, in Guelph. 10 H (it C December. January. February l990