The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings http:www'fastcompany'comonline02meetings'html

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The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetingshttp//www.fa
stcompany.com/online/02/meetings.html

• By Eric Matson
• Presented By Daniel Levere

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Introduction

• Discusses 7 common problems with meetings today
  (sins)
• Lists solution to solve each problem (salvation)

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Sin 1 People don't take meetings seriously

• Arrive Late/Leave Early
• Socialize
• Fall asleep

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Salvation Realize Meetings Are Real Work

• Dont waste time
• Keep things short and simple
• Have an agenda

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Sin 2 Meetings Are Too Long

• Should accomplish twice as much in half the time
• Some last over 90 minutes

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Salvation Realize Time is Money

• Meetings should be under 90 minutes, less if
  possible
• Track the cost of your meetings

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Sin 3 People Wander Off The Topic

• Presenter begins to tell stories or bad jokes
• Distractions leave listeners bored and annoyed

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Salvation Create An Outline and Stick To It

• Keeps presenter on-topic
• Allows meeting to run efficiently
• Keeps the interest of the listener

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Sin 4 Nothing Happens Once The Meeting Ends

• Outcome of meeting is rarely converted into
  action
• Outcomes of some meetings are hard to determine,
  due to the complexity as a result of using
  whiteboards, post-it notes, speech

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Salvation Look At Meeting As Doing

• Every meeting has an outcome, determine what it
  is and make sure it is accomplished
• Use computers for meetings, they allow for
  unlimited capacity for note-taking, and make it
  easier to centralize information

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Sin 5 People Don't Tell The Truth

• People dont speak their mind
• Fear of standing up to bosses

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Salvation Be Anonymous

• Allow people to submit ideas/questions/concerns
  anonymously
• Encourages everyone to truly speak their mind
• Takes away the factor of being afraid to stand up
  to a boss

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Sin 6 Meetings Are Always Missing Important
Information

• Conference rooms are usually isolated, and
  usually do not have computers or other sources of
  information
• This causes important information to be left out
  of meetings, which can impact company decisions

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Salvation Get Data, Not Just Furniture Into
Meeting Rooms

• Having computers will allow almost any type of
  data to be utilized during meetings
• No important information will be left out of
  decision making

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Sin 7 Meetings Never Get Better

• Presenters make the same mistakes
• People begin to dread the meetings because of the
  same results of each
• This causes lack of attention by everyone

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Salvation Practice Makes Perfect

• Try to improve on each meeting
• Pay attention to your audience
• Have an observer in the audience to provide
  feedback

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Conclusion

• Questions???