How English works

Analyze the text given below to find out:

a) how to start the meeting,

b) how to move on to the next item

c) how to interject

d) how to keep people to time

e) how to bring back tin line

As a Chairperson, you have done a lot – you have sent out a clear agenda, worked with your administrative support to set up a room with refreshments, and all the people invited have turned up except for one. You are ready to start, and you know you must start with impact- how do you now go forward in a way that demonstrates your presence?

Here are some tips:

As each person arrives, say hello and introduce yourself to anyone you don’t know, and be sure to state, “Hello, welcome- my name is Jane Goodwin and I am the Chair this afternoon”. Try to start the meeting on time even if not everyone is present- that is their problem, and bad manners (ask the minute taker to make a note of the names of anyone missing, so that you can speak with them later)

Then begin with something like …

“Hi, everyone. Thank you for coming. As you know, we still have one or two people missing and I have one apology from Sarah Hodges who is off sick.

However, we have quite a large agenda and so I am going to start and when the others arrive they can join in. My name is Jane Goodwin and I am the Customer Care Liaison Officer and I have been asked to chair these meetings.

To my right is Phil Norman who is acting as administrative support for these meetings and will be taking the minutes. I think it would be useful for all of us, including Phil, if we all introduce ourselves quickly before starting.”

If you have any ‘rules’ or ‘points’ you want to state, now would be a good time. For example:

“ At the end of this meeting I will be arranging the date for the next meeting and therefore anyone who needs to go and fetch their diary should do so during the scheduled break. At the moment I am thinking in terms of fortnightly meetings until the project settles down. We might then move to monthly.”

Now, you are ready to move on to the items…

“Thank you. Now the first item is discussing the terms of reference of the group and also creating a behavioural charter so that we can be very clear about the focus of the group discussions and also how we, as a group, would like to operate. Let’s start with the terms of references. Mark, would you like to start us off by presenting this item? ”

If anyone enters either during or after beginning your speech, nod an acknowledgement but do not go back and repeat everything.

The meeting should be off and flowing with you on charge.

Remember you cannot sit back; you need to be totally focused and you may have to interject now and again.

There are three reasons for you to interject:

 You wish to move the process on.

 You want to ask a question or clarify a point

 You wish to issue some warning, calm a situation down, or issue a “red card”

People become very excited by their own subject, which is why it can be so difficult to keep people to time. As soon as someone begins to deviate from the original topic, you need to make a fast decision. If you decide that the conversation needs to be brought back in line, you need to resume control. For example:

“ I need to interject here, there is ten minutes allocated for this item, and we are already seven minutes in. Please can we come to a conclusion, and if we need to discuss the matter further, perhaps we can reallocate this item to a future agenda.”

Similarly …

“ There is clearly a considerable amount of feeling relating to this topic. Can I suggest that it is discussed further outside of this meeting and an outcome is presented later? ”

Chairing a meeting can be quite an onerous task because you are dealing with people, and that is never easy as they will all have their individual view on many matters.

IT IS INTERESTING TO KNOW.

In some cultures the main role of the chairperson is to control the meeting. This may include sticking to an agenda, keeping order and making sure that the meeting does not overrun. In other cultures the function of the chairperson might be to encourage participation and agreement. What is the main function of a chairperson in meetings in your country?

Part 2. DIFFICULT PEOPLE AND SITUATIONS

A. Dealing with difficult people.

Exercise 1. When we talk about dealing with difficult people, what we really mean is dealing with difficult behavior. By learning to understand what it is that makes someone else behave and talk in a difficult way, we are in a better position not only to take charge of the situation, but also to help the other person resolve the conflicts that made him or her ‘difficult’ in the first place.

The crazy thing is that the natural way in which many of us react when we meet a difficult person is often more inclined to make that person’s behavior even more difficult. The key factor in dealing successfully with difficult people is to understand what makes them behave in the way they do.

Recognizing the personality type of difficult people enables us to deal successfully with them. Most styles of behavior can be categorized as one of three basic types:

 Passive

 Aggressive

 Assertive

Passive behavior I most typified by people who put other people’s needs before their own; such a person is often insecure and frustrated by his own inability to be assertive leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy of feeling inadequate.

Aggressive behavior can be summarized as satisfying one’s own needs at the expense of others; a tendency towards being a bully. This aggressive behavior is often the result of feelings of inadequacy and lack of self-worth: that nothing is ever their fault but always someone else’s, because an aggressive person’s lack of self0esteem does not allow them to admit faults.

An assertive person is concerned not only for his own rights and opinions but also for those of others and tries to obtain a win-win situation. In general, assertive people are the ones we most like to be associated with and by moving towards the assertive areas ourselves, we are better able to respond to passive and aggressive types.

Exercise 2. Look at the following examples of behaviour that a chairperson might have to deal with in a meeting. Which situation(s) should the chairperson deal with most urgently?

Discuss what strategies the chairperson could use in each situation:

1. A participant looks bored and is not contributing to the discussion.

2. Every time anyone makes a suggestion, one participant responds with a negative comment. They say why an idea won’t work, but don’t make any positive suggestions.

3. Two participants keep having private, whispered discussion during the

meeting.

4. A participant doesn’t want to listen to anyone else’s ideas. They keep interrupting and try to dominate any topic discussed.

5. A participant is not very willing to give an opinion.

6. A participant keeps introducing irrelevant topics to the discussion.

Exercise 3. Read the text about difficult situations in a meeting

to find an answer to the following questions:

1) What does a hog mean?

2) How do hogs usually behave during the meeting?

3) How can you stop them to take part in every conversation?

4) How to deal with conflicts.

The meeting hog is an attention-seeker who addresses every topic and

replies to every question. Hogs stop others from having their say, and when they

do say something worthwhile, it’s often taken less seriously because it’s seen as part of their general chatter. Because hogs want attention, one way to deal with them is to give them attention. When Fred is about to speak for the fifth time, say ‘Come on everyone, don’t make Fred do all the work! ’ Fred will be delighted because you have given him the attention he graves, suggesting that he is the hardest worker there. He is the only one in the room who does not realize that he has just been told to be quiet. If subtle tactics don’t work, tell the hog either openly in front of the whole meeting or in a break that, while you appreciate his or her level of contribution, it’s really important that others have an equal say and ask him or her politely to give others a chance.