Module V
Effective Business
Communication in Meetings
• A meeting is a group communication in action around a defined
agenda, at a set time, for an established duration
• Meetings can occur face-to-face, but increasingly business and
industry are turning to teleconferencing and videoconferencing options
as the technology improves, the cost to participate is reduced, and the
cost of travel including time is considered.
Strategies for Effective Meetings
• Send out the agenda for the current meeting
at least one week in advance.
• Send out reminders for the meeting the day
before and the day of the meeting.
• Schedule the meeting in Outlook or a similar
program so everyone receives a reminder.
• Start and end your meetings on time.
• Make sure the participants know their role
and requirements prior to the meeting.
Chairing Sessions
• Chairing a session at a conference
involves more than reading biographical
sketches out loud or interrupting
speakers when their time is up.
• An effective chairperson creates a sense
of coherence throughout the (sometimes
diverse) presentations.
1. Introducing the session
• As a chairperson, you must introduce the session
before you introduce the first speaker. Let the audience
know what the session is about, how it relates to or
differs from other sessions at the conference, and how
it is going to take place.
2. Introducing the speakers
• Introducing a speaker is much more than reading his
or her name and the title of his or her presentation
out loud from a piece of paper.
• Typically, this information is shown on the speaker's
first slide (projected on the screen at that moment),
and attendees can read it for themselves.
• Therefore, your introduction will be more useful to
the audience if you add something about both the
speaker and the topic that they cannot read on the
screen.
Managing time
• As session chairperson, you are responsible for managing time.
• To avoid stealing time from the audience, you must ensure that the
session ends on schedule.
• To avoid stealing time from other speakers, you must ensure that each
speaker stays within the agreed-upon time limit — for both the
presentation itself and the question and answer period.
Managing questions and answers
• As chairperson, you can handle questions and answers
more or less authoritatively. You can designate who
may ask a question and when, repeat or rephrase
questions as needed, and so on.
Wrapping up the session
• After the last presentation, wrap up the session with a pattern
similar to the one used to introduce it. Just as you previewed
the presentations, recap them; for example, restate the main
message of each presentation, or draw overall conclusions
from the session as a whole.
3 Components of a Business Meeting: Notice, Agenda and Minutes
• Notice of a Meeting: When a meeting is to be convened, a notice is required to be sent to all who are
to attend it.
• It should satisfy these conditions:
• 1. It should be under proper authority
• 2. It should state the name of the organisation
• 3. It should state the day, date, time, and place. Also, sometimes, how to reach the place
• 4. It should be well in advance. Some require seven days’ notice, some 48 hours’
• 5. It should state the purpose and, if possible, the agenda
• 6. It should carry the date of circulation and convener’s/secretary’s signature
• 7. It should go to all persons required at the meet
Agenda
• An agenda is the list of items to be considered at a meeting. It
is also called business or order of business. It comes from the
Latin word agendum (singular) which means ‘a thing to be
done.’
• It should include:
• The purpose of the meeting; and
• The order in which items are to be discussed, so that the
meeting achieves its purpose. This will later shape the
minutes of the meeting.
• An agenda is a tool for attendees including, but not limited to, the chairperson and
secretary. It serves several functions, before, during and after a meeting.
• These functions include:
• It helps potential attendees decide whether they need to attend. By setting out what
will be discussed, and for how long, it shows potential attendees whether they are
crucial to the discussion and whether it is crucial to them. They can then make an
informed decision about whether they attend or make their contribution in writing or
via another attendee.
• It helps invitees to prepare for the meeting. Along with any papers, it allows them to
understand what will be discussed and to think about the issues in advance. They can
also prepare any facts or figures so that they have the necessary information to hand to
make an effective contribution.
• It provides a structure for the meeting. It means that anyone diverting from the topic
can be brought back to the matter in hand quickly and easily.
• Similarly, it allows the chair to control the meeting. A timed agenda is especially
helpful for this, since the chair can move onto the next item when the time is up, asking
attendees to continue the discussion elsewhere if necessary.
• Finally, it gives a way in which the meeting’s success can be judged. Because the
agenda includes the purpose, attendees can see whether the meeting has achieved its
aim or not. This makes it clear whether future meetings are necessary on the same
subject.
• FEATURES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF AGENDA
1. The features of agenda can be stated as follows:
2. Generally, agenda is sent along with the notice of the meeting.
3. It is written at the end but before or after the signature of the
convener of the meeting.
4. It is arranged according to the importance of the end.
5. Controversial topics should be written at the end.
6. The topics are determined by the secretary with consulting the
higher authority or the convener of the meeting.
7. It is written in brief but explicit manner.
Minutes of the Meeting
• The minutes of a meeting are the record of the discussions/decisions therein. They
have an official status; they are useful in law, and in some cases required by law to
be written. Minutes are final when they are approved by the members of the group
to which they relate, generally in the next meeting, and signed by the chairperson.
• To write effective meeting minutes you should include:
• The names of the participants
• Agenda items
• Calendar or due dates
• Actions or tasks
• The main points
• Decisions made by the participants
• Record what is the most important points
• Future decisions
• Documents: images, attached files
TYPES OF MINUTE
• 1. Minutes of narration: These minutes will be a concise
summary of all discussions which took place, reports received,
actions to be taken and decisions made. It includes:
• Names of the participating members.
• Name of the proposer and supporter.
• Discussion summary. Resolutions.
• 2. Voting pattern etc. Minutes of resolution: Minutes of
resolution means the written statement of the decisions that have
been taken and approved by the participating members of the
meeting. Only the main conclusions which are reached at the
meeting are recorded in minutes of resolution. These are usually
used for minutes of AGMs and other statutory meetings.
• Example: Purchase of photocopier- the company secretary
submitted a report from the administrative manager containing full
details of the trial of the AEZ photocopier. It was resolved that the
AEZ photocopier be purchased at a cost of $250
Organizing and Preparing Reports
• Parts of Formal Report:
• Preliminary Parts:
1. Included to add formality to a report
2. Emphasize report content
3. Help the reader in locating the desirable information
Preliminary Parts of a Formal Report
• Contains report title
• Authorization
• Transmittal- (summarizes main points or analysis)
• Table of contents
• Table of Figures
• Executive Summary
Report Text
• Introduction- Introduces the topic and previews major
division
• Body of the report after the introduction
• Analysis- Reviews main points presented in body and
may include conclusions and recommendations
Addenda
• References- Use alphabetical list of sources used
in preparing report
• Appendixes- Supplementary information that
supports report
• Index- Includes alphabetical guide to subjects in
report
Title Page
• Title
• Author
• Date
• Name of organization
Create a good title
• Keep the title short, i.e., 8-10 words
• Avoid the use of “the,” “is,” “a”
• The title should speak for itself. Technology &
Communication / Use of Technology in Business
Communication
• Be creative- think (why, what, where, when, who, where, and
how?)
• Table of Contents
• Table of Figures
• Executive Summary (also called the abstract, overview, or précis)
summarizes the essential elements in an entire report.)
Executive summaries should include the following components:
An explanation of why the research was performed
The results that the research yielded
Proposed suggestions for how management or leadership should best
alter strategies based on the findings of research
How to write an executive summary?
• It should be written clearly, focusing on all the important
elements/analysis of the report
• It should begin with a brief background to the report, which includes
the problem, rationale, objective, and scope of the report
• A small note should be there on methodology that includes the sources
of data and analysis used.
• The finding should be well established and based on sound analysis
• Avoid visuals
