Running a Great Meeting In A Day For Dummies
by Marty Brounstein, Susan Friedmann, CSP, and Dirk Zeller
Running a Great Meeting In A Day For Dummies
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Copyright 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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ISBN 978-1-118-49122-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-49121-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-49125-6 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Introduction
Mention the word meeting, and chances are you receive an onslaught of negatives, many of which we wouldnt dream of putting into print. Suffice it to say that meetings arent on the top of everyones hit parade. Why? Because historically, meetings have been plagued with sloppy planning, weak agendas, and nebulous expectations. But many practical and beneficial reasons exist for holding meetings, such as when you need a group consensus on a project or when you need to brainstorm ideas.
Running a Great Meeting In A Day For Dummies focuses on the necessary components for preparing a small business meeting so it accomplishes the planned objectives. For that to happen, every detail of your meeting needs consideration. Everything you do helps lay the groundwork and sets the scene. We outline those details in this book.
What You Can Do In A Day
Running a Great Meeting In A Day For Dummies is truly a how-to manual for planning and conducting many types of business meetings. Its a down-to-earth, step-by-step guide that takes the mystery out of the planning process. Weve structured this book in such a way that you can jump in and out of the text as necessary. Perhaps you need to know how to put together an agenda for an upcoming meeting; flip to . You may be able to read this book in just a few hours, but expect to spend weeks, months, and maybe even years implementing the ideas we include.
Foolish Assumptions
While writing this book, we made a few assumptions about you, dear reader:
Youre new to leading meetings and want to make the most of those youre in charge of.
Youve led your fair share of meetings, but you arent getting the results you want, so youre looking for ways to make your meetings better.
Youre holding meetings with 4 to 20 or so people. Not too big, not too small.
Youre attending and most likely leading the meeting that is, youre not setting up the meeting for your boss or someone else and then skipping it because the topic doesnt pertain to you.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout this book youll notice small graphics in the margins, called icons. These symbols are meant to draw your attention to particular ideas.
This icon signifies practical ideas and points that help you plan and run your meeting.
This icon indicates an area of concern or offers a tip on how to avoid trouble.
This icon marks information you should keep in mind while planning and conducting your meeting.
This icon marks something that you can practice quickly in preparation for your meeting or an idea you can work on in conjunction with other meeting participants.
When you see this icon, head to this books companion website at www.dummies.com/inaday/runningagreatmeeting
. Online, youll find more-detailed information about topics we cover in the book.