Effective Meetings

By Timothy Redd
At MCIL it’s all about Advocacy in Action. Ned Solomon, director of TN Partners in Policy making, led a training at the center today about effective meetings. Partners in Policymaking is the Council’s leadership and advocacy training program for adults with disabilities and family members of persons with disabilities. The Council established the Partners in Policymaking™ program in TN in 1992. Since that time, more than 500 adults with disabilities and family members with disabilities have completed the intensive program; these graduates have gone on to advocate for themselves, their family members and the disability community at large, and to influence policies on the local, state and national level.

If you are like me I’m sure you have attended a meeting where nothing was accomplished and it was a total waste of times. Did you know that everyone in a meeting has role to play and to be empowered.? When conducting a meeting its best to strive for an effective meeting.  Effective meetings have to the following components:

• More work is accomplished
• All are heard
• All parties needed for meeting are present
• The agenda is followed.
  

Some things can throw off a meeting and prevent it from being effective would the agenda not being followed, time limit is ignored, ineffectual facilitation, and not enough information provided for those present to make a decisions.  Some things that can help ensure and effective meeting would be an agenda presented before the meeting, having ground rules set in place, not speaking over each other. As a participant if the meeting is off track speak up, speak to the facilitator about future meetings if you feel comfortable and when possible ask for an email to avoid the meeting all together. Hopefully these tips have empowered you with some things you should know and that can help you when it comes to effectual meetings.

For more information, contact Ned Andrew Solomon at ned.solomon@tn.gov or by phone at 615.532.6556.