Effective Meeting Tips

Chairing international meetings - 1

Dealing with formalities

As a chair, you'll probably want to first welcome people to the meeting, ask if they all have an agenda, then get down to business.




Useful phrases:

"Thank you everyone for coming today."

"I've called a meeting to discuss…"

"The purpose of this meeting is to…"

"Has everyone received a copy of the agenda?"

"Let's get started."

 
 
Dealing with the agenda
 
The chair leads the participants through the points in the agenda, which might contain the following sections:




1. Apologies for absence (apologies from those people invited to the meeting but who can't attend)



"I've received the following apologies for absence from…."



2. Minutes of the previous meeting (people check to see if the notes from the last meeting are correct)



"Can we take the minutes as read?"



3. Matters arising (people report on what they have done as a result of the last meeting)



"Are there any matters arising from the last meeting?"



4. Action points (the main points for discussion)



"I'd like to go to point one on the agenda."



5. AOB (Any other business: people can make any additional points before the meeting finishes)



"Is there any other business?"



6. Date of next meeting



"I'd like to propose that we meet again on…"

"I think that just about wraps it up for today.."

"Thank you everyone for coming."


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