Everything you say in a meeting can be categorised into one of three types of behaviour. You can put forward new ideas; you can give support to, or disagree with, what has been said; and you can make sure that the information in the meeting is managed so it is clear and understood by everyone. [...]

The role of the chairperson is critical to the success of any meeting. There are three roles a chairperson can play.

Plan, structure and arrange meetings so everyone knows their purpose, what is to be discussed, and why.
Create an atmosphere during [...]

When you plan a meeting you must first be clear on its purpose and the items that are to be discussed. Then you can attend to the details of who should attend; where and when it should be held, and how it should be organised.
In deciding who should attend a meeting there is one rule. [...]

In a well run meeting you can solve problems, motivate people, initiate new projects, solve conflicts, get buy-in and build relationships more quickly and easily than in any other way. It’s no wonder meetings are so popular!
Research shows that the written word carries only about 7% of the true meaning of what you communicate and [...]

You sigh as you doodle along the edge of your page, then sneak a peak at your text messages.  Another meeting!
You’re not sure what its purpose is or why you’ve been invited. You don’t have any contribution to make. The arguments go round in circles. And why doesn’t someone do something about the guy at the end of the [...]

A performance appraisal interview is, in many ways, far more important for an employee than it is for a manager. It is essential that you prepare for your performance appraisals carefully and handle them skilfully.
A good performance appraisal can enhance your reputation and accelerate or change the direction of your career. An interview that goes [...]

Most of us put off having difficult conversations for as long as possible.  But even when we are in conversations, we find ways of avoiding the critical and difficult issues. The problem is that when you hold a conversation that does not directly and effectively address the real problem, no amount of talking will make [...]

If you want to build a high performing team you must know how to hold people to account for their performance. In general however, people are more skilled at avoiding accountability than others are at holding them to account. There are three tactics that are most commonly used. For each, there is a specific behaviour [...]

In most organisations it is assumed that if you want to build a high performing team you need to set stretch goals and objectives. Logically, it makes sense that setting challenging goals and objectives is the best way to inspire the most effort and the best performance. The only limitation that is commonly recognised is [...]

The old acronym K.I.SS. - Keep It Simple Stupid - is as well understood and relevant today as it ever was. In spite of that, much business communication is ineffective, whether it’s written or spoken.
People tend to ramble, never getting to the point. They focus more on showing what they know, rather than on [...]