LESSON 9: SKILLS FOR AD HOC COMMITTEE, TALK INS, AND QUALITY CIRCLES

Aspect Ad Hoc Committee Talk ins Quality Circles

Puspose Address specific issues or Facilitate open discussion Continuous improvement in
tasks temporarily. and idea sharing processes and quality
Structure Temporary; goal-oriented Informal; less-structured Structured; regular
meetings
Membership Selected members with Open to all staff Usually includes voluntary
relevant expertise members
Duration Dissolves after the task is Ongoing; no set duration Ongoing; regular meetings
completed (e.g. every two weeks)
Follow-up Actions Specific outcomes with Little to no formal follow- Action items documented
assigned tasks up and pursued
Facilitation Often led by a designated Free discussion, possibly Led by a trained leader
chairperson initiated by a manager
Goal Orientation Solve specific problems Venting frustrations and Improve quality and
sharing ideas efficiency of work
processes
Outcome Focus Report or recommendation General discussion without Implementation of
on specific issues formal outcomes suggestions for
improvement

LESSON 10: SKILLS FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS, BRIEFINGS, AND CONFERENCES

 Board Meeting. This, usually done monthly, is the time the board of directors meets under its chairman to discuss
the major affairs of the company and plan its future development. Usually present with the chairman are the
managing director and a number of full-time executive directors, including the marketing director, the production
director (factory manager), the chief accountant, and the personnel director.

 Briefing. This is a face-to-face meeting between one person who has information to convey and a group of people
who need to know the information for one purpose or another. The name of this meeting means 'short' and so this
is not intended to be a lengthy account of events. Usually, the statement read is quite short—a digest of facts as they
are known and an account of the lines of inquiry that are being followed.

 Conference. This business event's general arrangements begin with some major speaker to address the whole
audience for the first session of the day on some vital topic of universal interest. The lecture goes for one hour while
a discussion that follows goes for half an hour. The success of this activity depends very much upon the team
appointed to organize it and the backing given to them by top management.

 Convention. This is usually considered the biggest function of all and is held at the very highest level. Matters of
the greatest significance-such as the laws of the sea, the laws of the air, the global environment, or the control of
nuclear power – are discussed.

 Committee Meeting. This is when representatives of both management and staff meet. This is a lower level than
board meetings.
DRAWING UP AGENDA AND WRITING A NOTICE OF A MEETING
The agenda is the basis of a meeting that is drawn up beforehand by the secretary after consultation with the chairperson
who is the main person responsible for the items to be included in the agenda. Certain items from the framework of the
agenda: basically the agenda is the detailed schedule of matters to be discussed at a business meeting.
The agenda is circulated to the members with a cover letter – the notice of meeting – indicating the date, time, and the venue
of the meeting. The minutes if the previous meeting will also be included unless these have been circulated earlier. Below
are a sample agenda and a notice of meeting, respectively.

Agenda. The agenda serves as the foundation of a meeting and is prepared beforehand by the secretary, after consulting
with the chairperson. It details the specific items to be discussed, ensuring that the meeting stays on track and covers all
necessary points. The chairperson is responsible for deciding which items are included in the agenda. The agenda acts as a
structured outline, helping participants prepare in advance for the discussions.
Notice of Meeting. The agenda is typically sent out to all participants alongside the notice of meeting, which provides the
essential information such as the date, time, and venue of the meeting. This notice ensures that all members are informed
well in advance, allowing them to make arrangements to attend. Additionally, the minutes of the previous meeting are often
included, either in this communication or separately, to review any previous decisions and actions.
SKILLS FOR BUSINESS MEETINGS
1. ACTIVE LISTENING
When you pay real attention to what is being said and thinking about it carefully within the context of the
agenda topic that is being discussed, then you can be said to be actively listening. As an active listener, you need to
develop sensitivity to everything about communication - the speaker's voice: variation of tone, intonation or pace;
the structure of the speech being made; its introductory remarks, the main point or points, the development of the
points or arguments, and the summary of the speaker's views before the speech is concluded. You have to critically
listen with concentration so you can appraise it - whether you disagree with it or you support it entirely or some of
its parts. How often do you listen actively in meetings - able to know and repeat what has been said and able to
form a view of it by the end of the speech?
 Pay genuine attention to the speaker’s point/s.
 Identify variation of speaker’s tone, intonation or pace.
 Identify the introductory remarks.
 Follow the main point/s.
 Follow an argument.
 Summarize the speaker’s views.
 React to a speaker’s points.
 Appraise the speaker’s ideas, views, and feeling.

2. Writing the Minutes of a Meeting

The formal record of a meeting is the minutes of a meeting. The minutes constitute the authorized and official
version of what has been discussed and agreed upon at the meeting. The appointed secretary takes down the most
important remarks made by the various speakers. This secretary may produce a complete verbatim report or may
simply summarize the various contributions made in the meeting - the latter being the usual case. A minuting
secretary faces many challenges varied linguistic skills. Awareness of discourse markers is one challenge. Some
discourse markers are: therefore, firstly, secondly, moreover, etc. The language she/he uses in writing the minutes
is another challenge.

 Listen intelligently to the discussion.

 Follow each contribution.
 Make a mental summary of each contribution.
 Jot down notes with sufficient details.
 Identify discourse markers.
 Be objective in recording the minutes.

Writing minutes is a skill you need to possess in business communication: The formal language, restrained in tone,
is the required kind of English in writing minutes. The minuting secretary should refrain from being emotional and letting
her/his outburst of emotions or the emotions of the contributors affect the writing of the minutes. At the end of the meeting,
the minuting secretary transcribes the notes made in an established format. Refer to Figure 1 for the format of minutes of a
meeting The items of a meeting are given specific numbers that relate to the year's proceedings for easy and fast cross-
references to any particular item in earlier minutes and sub-headings are used. The draft minutes are submitted to the
chairperson for approval before the minutes are duplicated and circulated to the members for the following meeting. The
signature space at the end of the minutes is to be signed by the chairperson until the following meeting, when the members
discuss again the minutes and will be asked to agree that the minutes are a correct record of the earlier meeting. When
everyone agrees, the chairperson signs and that's when the minutes become part of the formal record of the company. This
may then be quoted or referred to in any future deliberations on the matter recorded.