PREPARING BUSINESS MEETING

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTIOn

When hosting a business meeting, it's important to keep the word 'host' firmly in mind. The participants in the meeting from outside your office, whether from your company or others, are guests, and should be treated as such. You should start your planning process early, in order to make sure you have time for all the arrangements necessary. Consider the basic needs of a meeting: a place to meet, tools and equipment to work with, and amenities to make your partners and guests feel comfortable and able to work at their best. The first thing to consider is the location. How many people are coming? Will your office conference room be of adequate size, or do you need to plan an offsite meeting?1 Actually, no matter how informal the meeting, preparation in advance can improve the effectiveness of the meeting itself. When planning a meeting, visualize in advance how the meeting will unfold: who will stand where, how long the presentations will last, how the meeting will be organized?. This paper is containing the preparing business meeting. As we know that preparing the business meeting one of a key to get our meeting successful. This preparation will vary depending on the meeting, so when we do a meeting, we need to have good preparation to make our meeting successful.

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http://ezinearticles.com/?Preparing-an-Office-for-a-Business-Meeting&id=5934181 retrieved on Mei 15 2011

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CHAPTER II CONTENT

Being prepared for your first business meetings is one way of distinguishing yourself from your competitors. The better prepared you are for your first business meetings, the better your conversion rate will be with your prospects. Remember, your prospect will probably intent to see other service providers. Use this opportunity to shows them that you are the person they should do business with. Leave nothing to chance.2 Bellow are some preparation of business meeting, they are as follows:3 Homework When sending materials in advance of the meeting, be clear what home work you are asking attendees to do. For example, if you send a document for review, ask for comments on specific aspects of the document - different reviewers are asked to comment on substance, design, and editorial issues. If you've been asked to prepare for a meeting, allow plenty of time to finish the work before the meeting starts. If you haven't been asked to prepare, double-check with the organizer to be sure nothing is expected of you in advance. Occasionally it is necessary to ask someone to speak on a topic for which they have not been asked to prepare. Courtesy dictates that you inform the others in attendance that the person is speaking off the cuff. Even if you expect guests to prepare for the meeting, bring enough copies of the agenda and of the handouts for everyone who attends, along with notes from the previous meeting if applicable.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Preparing-for-a-Business-Meeting Retrieved on Mei 13th 2011

Jo Schlegel. Preparation for Meetings .Retrieved on Mei 13 2011
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http://www.salary.com/Articles/ArticleDetail.asp?part=par383

Arrangements Choose a meeting location that suits the occasion - right size, convenient location, appropriate technological capabilities, proper ventilation, space to hang coats, etc. Then, make sure the room is outfitted with the appropriate amenities and equipment to make the guests comfortable and the meeting effective. Tables and chairs There should be enough room for everyone to sit down and spread out at the conference table. It is a show of courtesy and respect not to make guests bring their own chairs to a meeting. For a large meeting or conference, it may be necessary to arrange with facilities professionals to provide sufficient chairs. Investigate lead times for such services as soon as you know you will be organizing a meeting. Atmosphere If the room is cool at the beginning of the meeting, it will warm up to a comfortable temperature as the meeting unfolds. Check lighting, including dimmer switches. Practice dimming the lights and covering the windows for audiovisual presentations. For a larger meeting, be sure the speaker is well lit and visible from the back of the room. Accommodations Make sure all guests are fully able to participate: the room is accessible by wheelchair, interpreters are present, and other disabilities are accommodated. Sound Test all microphones and amplification equipment before guests arrive. Stand in various parts of the room to be sure the sound is neither echoed nor muffled. Check battery levels on cordless equipment.

Supplies Arrange for flipcharts and markers, notebooks, pens, sticky notes, pencils, nametags, podiums, projection screens, video equipment, and other materials required by the speakers. If the meeting is off site, it may be worth bringing your own meeting supplies if you are unsure about the venue. Note taking One person should be responsible for keeping an official record of the meeting. Designate that person in advance. Formal meetings may call for an audiotape record. Use video sparingly, for example at conferences and shareholders' meetings. Video makes the tenor of the meeting more formal and may discourage participation. Refreshments If guests are coming in from outside the organization, refreshments are in order. Order bottled water and a variety of other drinks and food that is easy to eat without spilling or leaving crumbs. Decide in advance what restaurant will supply lunch to avoid unnecessary discussions, and take into account your guests' dietary restrictions when reviewing menus. Regular work meetings may not call for food and beverages. Breaks Give attendees a rest approximately every 90 minutes. Some meetings may need only 5- to 10minute breaks. If refreshments are served, a 15-minute break is typically needed. As the meeting breaks, say specifically what time the meeting will resume to ensure that everyone returns promptly. Interruptions If the room has a telephone, make sure it is set to "Do Not Disturb." If necessary, post a sign on the door saying a meeting is in session. Let support staff know what types of interruptions are permitted.
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Instructions
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Clarify the purpose of the meeting. If you can't figure out what you need to accomplish, you shouldn't be calling a meeting.

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Prepare an agenda with the focus stated in a single sentence at the top. If someone else is preparing the agenda, contact him or her to add your topics. A first-rate agenda includes not only discussion topics and their time allotments, but also the names of attendees; the location, date and time; and a list of any background material attendees need to bring with them. Circulate the agenda in advance.

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Make it clear that the meeting will start precisely on time. Establish a reputation as someone whose meetings begin (and end) as scheduled. People will respect you for it.

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Appoint someone to document a record of decisions made, action items assigned and follow-up strategies agreed upon. Promptly distribute a copy to all attendees.

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Leave time at the end of the agenda to evaluate the meeting: Did you achieve the objective stated at the start? How can you improve future meetings on this topic?

People spend so much time in meetings that turning meeting time into sustained results is a priority for successful organizations. Actions that make meetings successful require management before, during, and after the meeting. If you neglect any one of these meeting management opportunities, your meetings will not bear the fruit you desire from the time you invest in meeting. Take these twelve meeting management actions to guide meeting attendees to achieve expected, positive, and constructive outcomes. Before the Meeting to Ensure Effective Meetings Actions before the meeting establish the groundwork for accomplishing meeting results. You can do all of the needed follow-up, but without an effective meeting plan to start, your results will disappoint you. Plan the Meeting Effective meetings that produce results, begin with meeting planning. First, identify whether other employees are needed to help you plan the meeting. Then, decide what you hope to accomplish by holding the meeting. Establish doable goals for your meeting. The goals you set will establish the framework for an effective meeting plan. As Stephen Covey says in theSeven Habits of Highly Effective People, "Begin with the end in mind." Your meeting purpose will determine the meeting focus, the meeting agenda, and the meeting participants. Make Sure You Need a Meeting Once youve developed your meeting plan, ensure that a meeting is the appropriate vehicle for accomplishing the set goals. To schedule and hold a meeting is expensive when you account for the time of the people attending. So, make efforts to determine that a meeting is the best opportunity to solve the problem, improve the process, or make an ongoing plan. You may find that you can accomplish the meeting goals with an email discussion or by distributing and requesting information through the company newsletter. Make sure the meeting is needed and not just convenient for you youll get better results from attendees. Ensure Appropriate Participation at the Meeting If a meeting is the appropriate means to accomplish your goals, check with the participants who must attend for the meeting to succeed. The needed attendees must be available to attend the meeting. Postpone the meeting rather than holding a meeting without critical staff members. If a
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delegate attends in the place of a crucial decision maker, make sure the designated staff member has the authority to make decisions or postpone the meeting. Distribute and Review Pre-work Prior to the Meeting How many meetings have you attended that started out with the meeting facilitator passing out a ream of handouts or projecting a Microsoft PowerPoint slide for discussion? Frustrating? You bet. The meeting becomes a group read-in, hardly productive for goal accomplishment. You can make meetings most productive and ensure results by providing necessary pre-work in advance of the actual meeting. Providing pre-work, charts, graphs, and reading material 48 hours before a meeting affects meeting success. The more preparation time you allot, the better prepared people will be for your meeting. Documentation that will help you achieve the meeting goals can include reports; data and charts such as competitive information, sales month-to-date, and production plans; Microsoft PowerPoint slides that illustrate key discussion points; and minutes, notes and follow-up from earlier or related meetings and projects. Pre-work distributed in a timely manner, with the serious expectation that attendees will read the pre-work before the meeting, helps ensure meeting success. More about making meetings effective: