How to make a valuable contribution to a meeting
As a member of a committee or working party, or as a participant in a one-off meeting, you will have an excellent opportunity to influence decision-making and to make your talents known and available to the organisation. You can attend a meeting - or you can be a participant. Whether solving problems or pooling ideas, a meeting in which you are involved can be productive for you and the organisation, depending on how you act and what real contribution you make...
1. Understand why you have been asked to participate.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Have I been brought in simply to fill a gap?
- Am I representing a department or section or specialist group?
- Have I been brought in to provide expertise or competence in a particular area?
- Am I here as the organisation's bright-young-person with ideas?
- Am I here as the voice of experience, the steadying influence?
When you can answer such questions, you can channel your efforts appropriately.
2. Know the other participants.
Find out all you can about the other participants - their likes and dislikes, strong and weak points, the powers they have, the way they operate, how they react to new ideas and proposals. Knowing all this, you can adopt effective tactics for dealing with them.
3. Arrive prepared.
Prepare yourself by studying the agenda and all working papers in advance. Focus on items for your particular attention and anticipate any needs the group will have for data you can supply. Prepare for your involvement by compiling handouts or charts, working up suggestions or recommendations, and making notes from which to speak if required. You may choose to canvass the views of influential participants beforehand. The amount of preparation you do will determine how others view you - as a passenger or as a valued participant. Plan in advance to make at least one specific contribution.
