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CHRIS PHILPOT’S
ANIMATED LOOK
AT RUNNING A
MEETING
M
I’m sure you’re wondering why
I’ve called you all here …
The key to mastering a meeting when all eyes are on you
eetings are crucial, sure. But also,
they’re absurd.
Let’s work! … by not working.
Let’s get something done! … by mostly
being quiet. Let’s sit around a table
and have a conversation! … and end
it arbitrarily regardless of how much
we’ve gotten done. Let’s meet! … about
scheduling a meeting.
But there’s a certain kind of meeting
that is not so absurd. At least for you.
And that is the meeting in which you are
the star. You may not be leading the meeting—or
“facilitating” it, as the meeting
experts so clinically put it—but you’re
the star. You’re fully aware of your role.
You’ve had time to prepare. Perhaps you’re
pitching something. Or unveiling something.
Or briefing people about something.
All eyes are (or should be) on you.
There are still absurdities involved,
but you’re the one controlling the level
By Ross McCammon
of absurdity. The inherent stiltedness is
something you’re in charge of. And since
you’re in charge of it, the first thing to do
is harness it. Because people don’t mind
stiltedness and formality. They just need
to know that there’s a point to it all.
THE CENTRAL TRUTHS OF MEETINGS
In psychologists’ studies of meetings,
two important principles arise.
1. People want to have their
expectations met. This is why an agenda
is key. It’s a confirmation that what’s
discussed will at some point resolve.
Since people hate meetings (and all available
research suggests that people hate
meetings), the most important thing to
do early on is establish an end point.
2. People want to feel that their
presence is crucial. “No one likes to
attend meetings unless you can make
sure it helps a person accomplish his or
her tasks, and it’s part of the job and not
an extra thing,” says Alexandra Luong,
associate professor of industrial and organizational
psychology at the University
of Minnesota Duluth. “The research
suggests that it’s not the big things that
annoy us, but the small daily hassles
that throw us off and cause us to develop
negative attitudes.”
So even if you didn’t decide who
would be at the meeting, it’s important
that you speak to everyone who’s there.
That’s best accomplished by making sure
your message is relevant to everyone in
the room. (Eye contact helps, too.)
HOW TO DELIVER A MESSAGE
The way to shine at a meeting is to treat
it like a speech. It may be an informal
speech, interrupted by someone asking a
question or challenging a point or having
ILLUSTRATIONS © CHRIS PHILPOT
28 ENTREPRENEUR MARCH 2015