BCRW

BBA (2020-24)

Oral Communication

Meetings: (Past Paper 2022 - Def + Conduct)

Def: A meeting is a gathering of two or more people where purposive discourse occurs. In other
words, a meeting is a group communication in action around a defined agenda, at a set time,
for an established duration.

Meetings can be effective, ineffective, or a complete waste of time. Some also define meetings as
“they keep minutes and spend hours”, “they sow but do not reap”, “a camel is a horse designed
by a committee”, and so on. Thus, if time is money and effectiveness and efficiency are your
goals, then if you arrange a meeting, lead a meeting, or participate in one, you want it to be
worth your time.

Meetings can occur face-to-face, but increasingly business and industry are turning to
teleconferencing and videoconferencing options as the technology improves, the cost to
participate is reduced, and the cost of travel including time is considered. Regardless of how you
come together as a team, group, or committee, you will need to define your purpose in advance
with an agenda.

Types of Meetings:

Meetings are a way to collaborate, share information, and find solutions as a team, no matter
where we work from. They are an opportunity to use brainstorming techniques to generate new
and creative ideas.

When done right, each meeting we attend serves an important purpose.

The three main types of meetings are:

1. Problem Solving Meetings: The main goal of a problem-solving meeting is to find the
optimal solution to an issue facing the organization.

And when it comes to finding the best course of action, two heads (or a few in this case)
are better than one. Effective problem-solving meetings require participants to come
together and generate as many potential solutions as possible.

Once that objective is achieved, participants have to decide who will implement the best
solution. This responsibility can be assigned to one person or shared among a few team
members.

1
 BCRW
BBA (2020-24)

Finally, a successful problem-solving meeting isn’t complete without identifying the root
cause of the issue. Understanding what led to the problem in the first place will prevent it
from happening again.

Examples include meetings regarding operational problems, productivity issues, high

employee turnover etc.

2. Informational Meetings: An informational meeting – also called an informational

interview – is a meeting in which you talk to a professional in order to learn about
practice areas, career paths, and employers. The purpose of an informational meeting is
not to market yourself for a specific job; instead the purpose is to gather information and
make contacts.

Informational meetings are beneficial for gaining a better understanding of a new practice
area or setting, clarify career goals, to know about the changes in the reporting
procedures, know about company’s strategic plans, new mission statements etc.

3. Suggested Solution Meetings: These types of meetings take place when there is a desire
to receive input from the staff or subordinates on an issue, and a desire to review
preliminary recommendations before solving the issue.

Other important types of meetings are:

4. Decision-Making Meetings: A decision-making meeting is a collaborative effort led by

a team leader. According to McKinsey, it’s typically made up of 6 to 8 attendees and
contains a structured agenda that identifies the decision that needs to be made.

The participants involved are key decision-makers or subject matter experts. For
example, deciding on a new hire will only include certain employees like hiring
managers. To run an effective decision-making meeting, participants must know in
advance how the decision will be made.

For instance, if the team can’t come to a consensus within 60 minutes, they’ll put it to a
vote or the key decision-maker will make the final call. Knowing in advance how the
decision will be reached avoids wasting time.

Another important aspect of decision-making meetings is information gathering. You’ll

want to make sure you have all the necessary information you need to make the best
decision.

2
 BCRW
BBA (2020-24)

Examples include meetings regarding deciding on a new hire, making an employer

branding change, operational changes like downsizing or cutting costs or final approval
of a design.

5. Team-Building Meetings: Team building meetings are designed to strengthen teamwork,

trust, and cohesion. Improving the way employees work together leads to an increase in
productivity as well as employee happiness.

A team-building meeting aims to create a fun and interactive atmosphere through the use
of games or team challenges. This is a great opportunity for organizers or leaders to get
involved and form stronger connections with their teams.

As more employees are working remotely, virtual team-building meetings are becoming
increasingly important. They’re a way to engage and connect with employees who work
from home and may feel isolated from their team members and organization. Engaging
with remote employees helps prevent company culture and employee morale from
deteriorating.

Examples include meetings for virtual board games, virtual team challenges, lunch and
learns, internal TED Talks, team outings etc.

6. Brainstorming Meetings: Brainstorming sessions are innovation meetings. Participants

collaborate to generate new and creative ideas.

During these sessions, team members work as equal co-contributors or under the
guidance of a facilitator. These idea-generating meetings are loosely structured, allowing
teams to “think big” and tap into their creative potential. Using a variety of brainstorming
techniques like mind mapping, employees use their creative thinking skills to come up
with fresh ideas or new products.

Idea-generating meetings are most successful when teams are diverse. Diverse
perspectives generate better ideas, identify potential blind spots, and create more
innovative solutions.

Examples include meetings for product development or ad-campaign creation.

7. One-on-one Meetings: A one-on-one meeting is a meeting between two people. It is

scheduled for a specific purpose.

3
 BCRW
BBA (2020-24)

For example, it can be a performance review between a manager and their employee, or a
meeting between a sales rep and their client.

While you don’t need to follow an agenda during a one-on-one, a running document on
what each person needs to touch on is common. Otherwise, the meeting is loosely
formatted and unfolds like a normal conversation.

Examples include weekly one-on-one meetings, meetings for new employee introduction,
quarterly performance review, coaching or mentoring session, client sales meeting etc.

8. Check-in Meetings: Check-in meetings are one of the most common types of meetings.
Organizations regularly hold these progress-check meetings for several reasons such as to
share project updates and progress, ensure everyone is carrying out their roles and
responsibilities, get employee feedback, discuss any challenges, successes, or ideas,
figure out the next steps etc.

During a weekly team cadence meeting, for example, employees update their managers
and team on their weekly progress.

Check-in meetings are becoming increasingly important as more people are working
from home, and not directly under the supervision of managers. Regular check-ins help
ensure remote employees stay informed and their goals align with the rest of the team.

Conduct of Meeting:

If a club follows the correct procedures for a meeting, they will tend to flow smoothly, run on
time and be an effective and fair source for decision making. In some cases there are no defined
procedures at all and in other cases the procedures are defined and restrictive.

Meeting procedures are set up to:

● Improve the efficiency in the conduct of the business of the meeting while giving
protection to the rights of members present.
● Enable every person in the meeting to have an equal right to be heard and to have the
opportunity to have their viewpoint considered.
● Enable every person present to have an equal right to vote on the issues and to help in the
decision making.

4
 BCRW
BBA (2020-24)

PRIOR TO THE MEETING:

• Make arrangements for the meeting place.
• Send adequate notice of the meeting to all concerned.
• Minutes of the previous meeting should be enclosed if they have not already
been sent.
(More as needed)
• Collecting reports from club officers.
• Advising members of the meeting within a specified time.
• Calling for and receiving nominations for club positions.
• Arranging for printing of the completed annual report.
• Arranging for guest speakers.
• Arranging hospitality, venue, date and times

Agenda: The agenda should be detailed enough to allow all those attending the
meeting to arrive fully informed and prepared. Where possible ensure supporting
papers/notes accompany the agenda. Elements of an agenda are given below:

1. Opening Formalities
2. Apologies
3. Confirmation of Minutes
4. Business Arising from the Minutes
5. Correspondence
6. Business Arising from the Correspondence
7. President's Report
8. Treasurer's Report
9. Approval of Memberships
10. Special Reports
11. Election of Office Bearers
12. Election of Auditor
13. Guest Speaker
14. Motions on Notice
15. General Business
16. Notice of Motions
17. New Business
18. Date of Next Meeting
19. Close of Meeting

AT THE MEETING:
Meeting procedures may vary according to the level of formality required to complete the
agenda efficiently. A small organization might be able to dispense with the more formal

5
 BCRW
BBA (2020-24)

agendas required by a national organization. Most people have experience with meetings.
Often the constitution of clubs will give guidelines on how meetings are to be called and
managed. For formal meetings, Rules of Debate can be used. These are guidelines based
on parliamentary procedure and apply to general meetings of members and public
meetings. Formal procedure gives meetings a structure and helps members reach clear
decisions. They can also help control large meetings or a single antagonist on a
committee.
Motions: The Rules of Debate require that all business be put forward as a
positive statement of action called a “motion”. A motion is a formal
recommendation put to a meeting for debate and consideration.

All items of business or issues requiring a decision must be presented to the

meeting as motions which if passed, will then become resolutions. All motions
should be proposed by the “mover” in front of the chairperson and then supported
(seconded) by another committee member before any discussion can take place on
the item.
The chairperson then calls for speakers alternately for and against the motion. At
the end of the debate, the proposer can reply. A vote is taken. The secretary
should record the motion, who proposed and seconded it and whether it was
carried.

Amendments: Any speaker can move an amendment to the motion. When this
happens, people speak for and against the amended motion. The amendment must
be put before voting on the original motion. If the amended motion is carried, the
debate continues on the amended motion. If the amended motion is lost,
discussion moves back to the original motion.

Chairing Meetings: Throughout the meeting the chairperson:

• Notes who wishes to speak, and indicates when a person may speak.
• Is responsible for keeping conversation to the subject.
• Decides when discussion should be brought to an end.
• Does not usually get involved in the discussion unless their opinion is sought.
• Should summarize the issue under discussion to aid in decision making.
• If it is apparent that a decision cannot be made - refer the item to a working
group for a report at the next meeting.

Votings at meetings: The chairperson must have a clear understanding of the

voting rights of members (see your club’s constitution). There are several ways of
voting. Choose the one most appropriate to your situation - don’t opt for a secret
ballot when you know everyone in the room agrees on an issue.

6
 BCRW
BBA (2020-24)

• General agreement - why put it to the vote if it seems everyone is in

agreement? The chairperson can say “Do we all agree that...? Does anyone
disagree?”
• Verbal - the chairperson asks people to say “yes” or “no” and decides
which was the louder response. Suitable for larger groups.
• Show of Hands - the chairperson asks people to raise their hand to either
“yes” or “no” and counts the hands. This is useful where a precise vote
count is required.
• Individual vote - the chairperson asks each person to turn for their view.
This is better suited to small groups - it prevents anyone from
fence-sitting.
• Secret ballot - individuals vote on paper and two elected people - often
committee members - count the votes. Suitable for elections.
• Proxy - individuals who are absent can give someone else the power to
cast their vote. Proxy votes are permitted only if the constitution allows
for them and are usually bound by strict rules to prevent unfair lobbying,
eg. votes may be cast only in writing a week in advance.
• Postal - again, these are only permitted if the constitution allows them.

AFTER THE MEETING:

For the sake of accuracy, minutes should be written as soon after the meeting as possible,
when the details are still fresh in the mind. Preferably minutes should be circulated within
a week of the meeting being held. Prompt circulation of the minutes stirs people who
have been assigned tasks into early action and swiftly brings up to date those who missed
the meeting.
Note points for action (and the person responsible) that need to be chased up between
meetings. Make a note of diary items requiring long-term attention.
Taking Minutes:
• List those present along with apologies given.
• Follow the order of the agenda. This can be varied to suit a particular
situation.
• State the main issues, points of view put forward, and decisions made.
• Make sure the full texts of motions are recorded.
• List accounts for payment approved, reports received, main points of
answers required for correspondence, etc.
• Be alert to take extra notes that may be needed by the chairperson.
• Write up minutes as soon as possible after the meeting.

7
 BCRW
BBA (2020-24)