FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Barbara Baals, 215-204-7476
[email protected]
TEMPLE PROFESSOR OFFERS 101 WAYS TO TURN MEETINGS FROM DULL TO DYNAMITE
Meetings have a serious PR problem. Just ask Temple University professor Mel Silberman.
"Almost invariably, people dread meetings," Silberman says. "People say they're too long. They don't have the right people there. And they don't resolve anything.
"But people don't complain about meetings if they feel as though they're being productive and have a voice."
That's where Silberman comes in. A professor of adult and organizational development at Temple, Silberman is the author of 101 Ways to Make Meetings Active (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer), an easy-to-read, how-to book which offers dozens of creative approaches to turn dull, yawn-inducing meetings into interesting, fun, productive affairs.
"I'm interested in giving meetings a real jolt, in turning business as usual to business as unusual," says Silberman, whose book is chock full of tips, tactics, and simple strategies for meeting planners of all disciplines--from corporate executives to PTA presidents and everyone in between.
Want your meeting participants to learn everyone's name? Have each person talk about their name, why they like or dislike it, its origin, etc. At the end of the exercise, have participants write down everyone's name.
Want to call a meeting to order? Announce "Break time!" and watch the room suddenly get quiet and attentive.
Want to help a tired or tense group wake up or calm down? Make paper airplanes and fly them around the room.
Those suggestions really work on all types of groups, says Silberman, adding that the book also covers more heavy-duty topics such as preparing a meeting room, managing conflict, stimulating discussion, solving problems creatively, building teamwork, and closing the meeting "with a bang."
"Some of the techniques are unusual," says Silberman, also the author of Active Training. "The book offers quick recipes to get people out of a rut. There are a lot of things that professional facilitators use which the average meeting leader doesn't. We give a lot of ideas in the book so that the ordinary meeting leader will be encouraged to try some new things. "
Silberman's techniques are designed to build teamwork and creativity, two of the crucial elements of successful meeting participation. He advocates using break out groups frequently, even in very small meetings.
"The key to any meeting is the participation that occurs," says Silberman. "And participation occurs because people are energized."
That happens more frequently in group-oriented approaches, rather than open to-the-floor discussions, which cater to egos and "high talkers," says Silberman.
"Open-to-the-floor discussions mean that the high talkers take over. There are techniques in the book designed to remove egos."
All of Silberman's techniques, presented in straightforward, easy-to-follow style, are categorized to reflect their effectiveness according to the size of the group, how long the exercises take and their level of seriousness or fun.
"Techniques in the book work for almost any setting--from one-time-only groups to ongoing groups to the old familiar gang," says Silberman, president of the Princeton, NJ-based Active Training, a company which provides cutting-edge training seminars. "The reason for this kind of a book is to make it faster for people to find ideas."
***
bb-153
September 21, 1999
RSS