Meeting is indispensable when a few people have to work on a common issue as a team. Meeting allows all members in the team to exchange ideas face-to-face and focus on issues that need to be discussed. I had a number of group meetings/discussions when I was doing the research project. By practicing the appropriate meeting etiquette and effective communication skills learnt in this module, my group meetings/discussions seemed to be less tedious and burdensome but more efficient and productive.
In my opinion, emotion is a biggest barrier to active listening during meeting and it greatly influences one’s objectivity of the matter at hand. I learnt that one has to be more rational and keep his/her emotion in check continuously when listening for information during meeting. Failure to control your emotion would definitely let it to over-rule you and cause you to have heated arguments with others. At the end of the day, argument is never constructive in the meeting so one should resist the urge to argue with anyone.
I also learnt that one should listen actively with an open mind because a narrow mind would take away one’s opportunity to understand and analyze other members’ opinions. On the other hand, you should share ideas with conviction but do not be too defensive when it is your turn to speak. This would discourage possible insightful comments from the other members.
In addition, I felt that an agenda is a must to have before and during the meeting. My first few group discussions at the initial stage of the research project were held without agenda and this caused the meetings to be aimless and greatly impeded the progress of the project. For subsequent meetings, agenda were, however, drafted and sent to each member before the meeting so that everyone could prepare himself/herself for the meeting. By reading any related material based on the agenda, each member would be much able to provide valuable input during the meeting. During the meeting, discussion would also be more organized and every subject could be dealt with in orderly manner according to the agenda.
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7 comments:
Hi Barry,
It seems to me that you have benefitted tremendously from this research project! Good for you!
Emotions can occur unconsciously, hence making things complicated for one to keep his emotions in check especially after listening to an opinion that conflicts greatly with his values and beliefs. But that does not mean that we should let this obstacle be in our ways to become better listeners. With practice, all of us can become good listeners too. Communication is a constant and interactive process aimed at creating consensus. Perhaps if all team members can constantly remind themselves to think of the big picture and to discuss issues in an objective way, we can be on our way to more efficient meetings!
I have read before that some teams practice ‘59:59’ meetings. That is to say, their meetings would not last more than 1 hour as they believed that their time should be spent on more important issues like dealing with the customers and finding out their concerns. With an agenda, team members can prepare for the meetings, resulting in them being able to contribute more ideas. In addition, they would not side track during discussions that will result in a shorter but more productive meeting.
Jimmy
ES2007S Group 2
Hi Barry,
Indeed emotions may run high when all parties become too passionate about their own ideas. A myriad of ideas is good, but too many ideas may inadvertently result in some conflict. I believe that we should be listening to each other’s ideas with an open mind before coming to conclusions. Giving constructive feedback rather than mere criticism will certainly enhance the working relationship. At the end of the day, no man is an island. Working together effectively doubles the chances of success. I also agree that setting an agenda before every meeting is important, so that we may not subconsciously veer off topic and ensures the discussion keeps to the main objectives of the project.
Cheers
Ho Teck
Rational thinking is indeed important in group discussions to prevent any arguments. I feel that this can only be achieved by active listening to what the other party has to say and at the same time evaluate it before making a comment. I also agree with you that an agenda is a must for a meeting to be efficient. During meetings, time should be spent on presenting and sharing your ideas rather than coming unprepared and starting to think of what to present. This is especially important for business meetings
Hey Barry,
Seems like you have learnt a lot of stuff during this research project.
I agree with you that an agenda is very important before and during the meeting. It will set the path for the whole meeting to be conducted in a proper and simple manner and everyone could prepare for the meeting proper. If we prepare earlier by reading any related material based on the agenda, each member would be much able to provide valuable input during the meeting. During the meeting, discussion would also be more organized and every subject could be dealt with in orderly manner according to the agenda.
I hope you had a very good experience doing the project with your group members. This would help you in future.
I agree with you that emotion is a big barrier to active listening. Problems surface when people fail to recognize the distinction between content and relationship dimensions of communication. When project discussions are carried out, it is often based on the content level. However, problems occur between members when the communication is shifted to center around the relationship level. This can be in the form where ideas from a member are constantly rejected or runned down by another. This may be interpreted as a personal attack as the other party does not like him.
Disagreement over the content dimension is considered relatively easy to resolve. In contrast, disagreement over the relationship dimension is much more complex and difficult to identify to be a relationship-related disagreement.
Hi Barry,
I'm all with you on the need for organization! That way, everyone is clear on what needs to be accomplished and by whom. And no doubt that emotion is a factor when working in the group. Like it or not, sometimes it is hard to remove emotion and see things objectively. I believe we just have to keep reminding ourselves that its work, nothing personal.
Mei Ling
Dear Barry,
It is indeed wonderful to have worked with Jia Yi and you for the research project!
I agree that emotions should be kept in check during formal meetings. However, what is your take on emotions being displayed in informal meetings? Will that be apppropriate?
I certainly believe that we have learnt to listen effectively so as to communicate better. Also, we learnt about the importance of having agendas for each meeting. This is very important as we can remain focussed and hence be more efficient in out work.
I am sure that our hardwork will reap our desired rewards in terms of the grades we get eventually.
Binglin
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