Bringing out the best brainpower and talent in meetings is expedited by a high level of energy. Does the energy level in your meetings slump the longer the meeting continues?
This last “coachcast” in the Meetings That Work series covers seven specific strategies that leaders can use immediately in meetings to maintain and increase energy, attention, and vitality.
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More than anything else, the capacity of people to have a meaningful dialogue is what adds value to meetings by drawing out the brainpower and tacit knowledge around the table. Rich discussion, dialogue, and debate differentiate meetings where work gets done from time wasters that keep people from their work.

This session outlines seven ways that effective leaders encourage meeting dialogue:
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What’s the purpose of your meeting? Simply to share information? Retrospective information can be useful, but in the most productive meetings participants focus on achieving outcomes that are prospective in nature: alignment, attunement, and action.

This session explores how to encourage alignment, attunement, and action in your meetings...and the traps to avoid!

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To make the most of the talent and knowledge your people have to offer requires meaningful dialogue.

Why? Explicit knowledge can be shared in directives, reports and presentations, but tacit knowledge is brought out by rich dialogue, discussion, and interaction - and tacit knowledge is what gives organizations a competitive edge.

This is especially noticeable in meetings. In our knowledge-based economy, a meeting should be a time when work gets done, not an event that keeps people from their “real” work. In many organizations, meetings seem to be little more than people giving reports. These kind of meetings tend to focus on retrospective information (e.g. last month’s financial report or summaries of projects that people are doing outside of the meeting) - a formula for unproductive and boring meetings. Retrospective information can be useful, but in the most productive and valuable meetings the participants actively focus on aligning their thinking, attuning their values, and planning for action - tasks requiring tacit as well as explicit knowledge.

This article covers eight ways that effective leaders use to encourage dialogue: Read More...

Jack Nicklaus said, "Learn the fundamentals of the game and stick to them. Band-Aid remedies never last."
The same can be said of meetings. If meetings in your organization need work, first ensure you routinely practice the seven basics covered in this podcast before working on anything else.
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What if meetings were something we bragged about? "Hey honey, we had the most awesome meeting at work today!"
All too often we brag about how bad they are. Stop complaining and start adding value. If you're in a leadership role teach others how to do the same. Here are seven ways how...

• Speak up but say something new.
• Learn to Summarize.
• Acknowledge Other People’s Contributions.
• Ask Good Questions.
• Check-in With the Group.
• Frame Issues for Results.
• Foster Accountability.
  

Article on Summarizing for Sharper Thinking

Leaders under-utilize facilitation techniques. A few simple techniques, applied in the right circumstance can make meetings much more productive. These techniques are useful to bring balance to participation, to get meaningful input without taking a lot of time for discussion, and to separate what topics need deeper discussion from those that don’t.
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