Meeting Types

How should we participate in this meeting to make it more engaging and effective?

To answer this question, we should begin with a prior question: What is the purpose of this meeting?

This meeting GPS requires the participants to identify different types of meetings based on different purposes.

Synopsis


The participants prepare a list of different purposes for conducting a meeting. They review these purposes and identify the ones they should be pursuing more frequently. They discuss similarities and difference among different purposes.

Purpose

To compare the differences and similarities among different purposes for meetings.


Participants

  • Minimum: 3

  • Maximum: Any number, divided into groups of 3.

  • Best: 9 to 30

Time

15 to 30 minutes

Handout

Different Purposes of a Meeting, one copy for each participant

Supplies

  • Paper

  • Pens

Equipment

  • Timer

  • Whistle

Flow

Organize three teams. Divide the participant into three approximately equal-sized teams, each team with 1 to 7 members. (If we have only three participants, we could conduct this as an activity among three individuals.


Identify different purposes of a meeting. Ask the participants to brainstorm in three separate group to generate a list of different purposes of a meeting. Announce a 3-minute time limit.

Synthesize the lists. At the end of 3 minutes, blow the whistle and ask the participants to conclude their brainstorming activity. Ask all the participants to share their lists and work collaboratively to produce a common list of important purposes. Announce a 4-minute time limit.

Incorporate the external list. Distribute copies of the handout, Different Purposes of Meetings. Ask the participants to review the items in the list and add appropriate items to the common list. Announce a 3-minut time limit.

Discuss the purposes. Facilitate a discussion of the final list of meeting purposes, using questions like these:

  1. What are the differences among these meetings? What are the similarities?

  2. Which is the purpose for most of our meetings? What should be the primary purpose of future meetings?

  3. What ground rules could help us achieve the primary purpose of a meeting more effectively?

  4. What would be the best number of participants to achieve the primary purpose of the meeting?

  5. What types of participants should be included in the meeting?

  6. What technological tools could improve the processes and results of the meeting?


Handout

Different Purposes of a Meeting

  1. To solve problems or profit from opportunities

  2. To generate ideas

  3. To orient the participants to new procedures

  4. To plan important activities

  5. To prepare a budget

  6. To prepare a timeline

  7. To align activities of different team members

  8. To check the progress of different teams

  9. To share information

  10. To train the participants

  11. To evaluate plans, products, procedures, and people