How to run a meeting

www.anglophonie.fr
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How To Run A Meeting
(YouTube 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3a0KbM5p9A&feature=email
Hello and welcome to VideoJug. Meetings can be an incredibly productive way of making decisions, planning
for the future or communicating to a group of people at once.
We took this advice from Sean Mcfeet of m-t-d.co.uk. to show you how to run an effective meeting.
Step 1: preparation
First establish why you need to hold the meeting. What are your aims? What do you need the meeting to
achieve? Make a list of your targets for the meeting and write an agenda of the items you need to tackle during
your time together.
It’s a good idea to send this out to your colleagues beforehand so (that) they know what to expect.
Step 2: a facilitator
An effective meeting needs someone to act as referee. They are there to keep the meeting on track and make
sure everyone’s sticking to the agenda. Ideally they should be impartial. If this can’t be you, rope in a colleague.
It could be anyone.
Step 3: room layout
Make sure that everyone can see everyone else, and choose a layout that doesn’t reinforce hierarchy. Everyone
should feel able to speak freely. A U-shape arrangement is perfect with the facilitator at the gap in the U.
Step 4: timing
If you schedule your meeting to begin on the hour, the chances are people will drift in, grab a coffee, have a
chat, eat a biscuit, compare plans for the weekend and generally bonk off for at least 10 minutes before you’re
able to begin.
Instead, schedule it for an off-hour time, say ten past two instead of two o’clock. This simple psychological
trick will encourage punctuality and means you can start on time.
You should also have an enforced cut-off point to close the meeting. This will reduce dithering and keep you on
track.
Step 5: icebreaker
If some members of the group haven’t met, run through some group introductions. Go around the group and get
people to introduce themselves with who they are, what they do and something silly to help break the ice.
Embarrassing stories are always good for this. Get everyone to say the first record they ever bought or their
favourite guilty pleasure.
And my guilty pleasure is … taxidermy.
Step 6: the hanger
You have a definite purpose for your meeting, but pesky, free-thinking individuals that they are, your employees
will want to talk about things that aren’t on your agenda. Have a separate piece of paper available where you
can write down and store off-topic ideas for discussion later. This will help people feel they’ve been listened to
while keeping the meeting on task.
Step 7: the five-minute bell
There’s always one who’s tempted to talk, and talk and talk at great length about their pet subject. Well, you
want to give everyone the chance to speak. Give permission for anyone to call time on anyone else who speaks
for more than five minutes.
Bring a bell into the meeting, position it at the front of the room and encourage people to ring it if old Mona or
anyone goes on for too long.
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Step 8: minutes
During the meeting you should have someone take notes on what’s being discussed and agreed. Once the
meeting is over, have someone write these up. They should then e-mail them to everyone so that people know
what they’ve said has been recorded.
Also keep people informed of the outcome of the meeting and what action has been taken on the decisions you
made.
Congratulations! You’re now a meetings master. No more biscuit-eating, coffee-swilling, time-wasting for you.
…Ah well..
Vocabulary
1. to run a meeting
2. at once
3. to hold a meeting
4. aims, targets
5. an agenda
6. items
7. to tackle
8. beforehand
9. to act as referee
10. to keep the meeting on track
11. everyone is sticking to the agenda
12. rope in a colleague
13. room layout
14. a U-shape arrangement
15. timing
16. gap
17. on the hour
18. drift in
19. grab
20. have a chat
21. to bonk off (slang = de l'argot)
22. an off-hour time
23. trick
24. on time
25. an enforced cut-off point
26. to dither
27. icebreaker
28. run through some introductions
29. Go around
30. silly
31. record
32. the hanger
33. guilty pleasure
34. a definite purpose
35. pesky
36. free-thinking
37. store
38. off-topic ideas
39. bell
40. at great length
conduire une reunion
en même temps
tenir une réunion
objectifs
ordre du jour
éléments, points
aborder, "attaquer"
au préalable
pour servir d’arbitre
garder la reunion "sur les rails"
que tout le monde s’en tienne à l'ordre du jour
enrôlez
l'agencement de la pièce
agencement en forme de ‘U’
horaire
trou
sur une heure juste (14h, 16h, etc.)
entrer à tout moment
(ici) se prendre
discuter
gaspiller le temps
entre les heures précises (14h10, 15h20, etc)
ruse
à l’heure
un délai de parole respecté
tergiverser
moyen de briser la glace
faites se présenter les gens
faites le tour
bête
disque
le "cintre" = un moyen de mettre une idée dans un "placard"
pour une discussion future.
péché mignon
un but précis
casse-pieds
libre penseur
emmagasiner = mettre de côté
hors sujet
sonnerie
longuement
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41. pet subject
42. call time on someone
43. goes on for too long
44. have someone write these up
45. outcome
46. biscuit-eating
47. coffee-swilling
48. time-wasting
sujet préféré
dire à quelqu'un que son temps de parole est dépassé
s’éternise
demandez à quelqu’un de les écrire
issue
occasion où l’on ne fait que manger beaucoup de biscuits
occasion où l’on ne fait que boire beaucoup de café
occasion où l’on ne fait que perdre du temps