Building Your Chairperson Skills

Overview

In this age of multi-tasking, many people are expected to chair meetings; however, they often do so without confidence in or knowledge about what they’re really supposed to do as the chair. Getting agreements and ending the meeting on time are but two of their tasks. They also need to be able to synthesize and summarize information well “on the spot,” listen to both sides of a discussion impartially, and deal effectively with various kinds of interruptions and discord. In this one-day workshop, through discussions, tasks, self-assessments, checklists and practice, participants will learn how to increase their effectiveness as a skilled chairperson.

Topics

• Characteristics of a good chairperson
• Do’s and don’ts of chairing a meeting
• Planning and preparing for meetings
• Creating clear expectations and agendas that work
• Determining and achieving outcomes for both consultative and directive meetings
• Setting and maintaining a meeting culture
• Structuring meeting times to best advantage
• Achieving the most important responsibilities
• Using the minute-taker more effectively
• Applying meeting rules informally and knowing when to use formal meeting rules
• Responding appropriately to participant behaviours
• Increasing desirable meeting participation
• Differences between in-person meetings and tele-meetings
• Tips for chairing video- and tele-conferences

Audience

• Anyone who chairs or will chair a meeting and wants to be effective.

Duration

Cost

• $655 (plus tax)

Featured Instructor

Elva Keip has designed and delivered workshops in the adult education field for over 25 years.  She relies on her experience and extensive research, along with her dynamic presence and sense of humour, to provide superb training in a variety of areas, such as facilitation, writing (basic, advanced and web), competencies interviewing, policies and procedures, and briefing notes. A key focus in all her workshops is the effective use of plain language. Elva also offers one-on-one coaching for individuals who prefer a personal approach to their skills development.

Sessions