The average HOSA advisor and officer spends 10 hours a month working on chapter management. Many other tasks are competing for those hours. If you are managing the meeting, it is wise to structure the meetings to flow as efficiently and effectively as possible. Meeting management conveys respect for your fellow members' time and strong leadership. Review these tips and make the most of your HOSA planning time.
10 Ways to Shorten Long Meetings:
- Ban electronic devices. Everyone will be anxious to end the meeting if they cannot read or send texts or emails.
- Send background materials the day before. Meet with a key player who can gather and summarize materials for the team. Review and approve all background information before it is sent.
- State the purpose of the meeting when you send out the agenda. State the purpose again at the beginning of the meeting. A meeting without a purpose is a waste of time.
- Establish action items on the agenda, not discussion points. State what needs to be accomplished.
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Ask members for their conclusion when they begin speaking. Teach teammates to get to the point quickly by asking:
- What’s your conclusion?
- What’s your recommendation?
- What do you want?
- Minimize one-way communication. Leverage two-way, real-time communication.
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Limit the number of participants to five or six at most. Small groups:
- Increase ownership.
- Elevate responsibility.
- Shorten the time needed for the meeting.
- Expose drifters. Drifters cannot hide in small groups.
- End at the appointed time. Teach people that you stick with the agenda.
- Don’t reward tardiness by reviewing.
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Send meeting results:
- Review decisions made.
- List follow up responsibilities. The person who doesn’t have something to do after the meeting, should not have attended the meeting.
- Include deadlines.
