This information provides food for thought rather than counsel specifically designed to meet the needs of your organization or situation. Please use it mindfully. The most effective leadership and communication plans are those that have been tailored to meet your unique needs and organizational culture, so don't hesitate to get individualized assistance from a qualified adviser.

Have an agenda
We all hate meetings that have no purpose or don't seem to accomplish much. If you must have a meeting, create an agenda so that participants know what to expect and what's expected of them. Give a brief overview of the agenda at the beginning of your meeting, and check in periodically to see how the group is doing in comparison to the agenda. Make adjustments as needed to ensure that you end the meeting as planned, or extend the meeting for a specific time and purpose agreed upon by the group.

Come prepared
Try to see your presentation material from the audience members' points of view. Is your presentation too long or too dense (laden with information that the group doesn't really need)? Have you addressed the things most important to your group? Are you using too much jargon? By thinking about what information most interests your audience, you can focus your presentation more effectively.

Keep control of the meeting
This is a tough one with some groups, particularly if the topic is controversial. The best way to keep control of a meeting is to provide some ground rules at the start, and get the groups' buy-in before getting started. For example, you might say, "In order to get through this meeting, we'll need to follow some ground rules: only one person speaks at a time, and we discuss issues but don't attack the individuals voicing the issues; we'll also keep time to ensure that everyone has time to speak, so we may ask you to wrap up your point if we're needing to move on. Can we all support those ground rules for this meeting?" Once stated, you can hold participants to these rules.

Handle anger
Contrary to popular belief, conflict is not altogether bad. Out-of-control conflict is bad. When anger erupts and personal attacks begin, remind participants that opinions are important and invited, but we need to focus on the issues and not attack the person. If the anger is focused on you as the presenter (read: the issue you're presenting), try a few conflict resolution tips:

• Frame your response with a transition phrase that acknowledges their frustration or anger, such as, "I understand your concern," or "I know that it's very frustrating...let's see if we can get to the specific issue that bothers you the most about this," or "What I think I hear you saying is (rephrase their objections). Is this correct?" Transition into your answer.
• If the topic is really controversial and a participant gets out of control, you might say something like, "Tom, I know this is a frustrating topic for you, and I'd be happy to discuss it further with you later so that the rest of the group has a chance to ask their questions here now."
• Again, refer group members to the ground rules that you covered at the beginning of your meeting, and remind them that personal attacks, speaking out of turn, dominating the discussion, etc., do not further the mutually beneficial goal of sharing information that all attendees care about.

Stay on track
Inevitably, participants will make the leap from your topic to peripheral issues...also known as a tangent. To keep your discussion on track, you might say something like, "That's a good issue, but we've got a tight schedule for discussing (your topic). Does anyone have other comments about (your topic)?"

Manage questions
Listen to the question and maintain eye contact with the person asking the question. Don't interrupt. When giving your answer, watch closely for tell-tale body language - a sure sign of whether your answer is hitting home or missing the target. If the person looks confused or frustrated, say something like, "I'm not sure I'm giving you the information you're looking for. Can I answer the question in another way?"

Answer honestly
If you don't know the answer to a question, say so. Not only will this help to avoid unnecessary sparks between you and your audience, it'll help reinforce your credibility. Provide information about when an answer might be forthcoming, or where the person can inquire regarding the answer. Ideally, you might offer to find the answer and follow up with the person in question. If you promise to follow up in any way, do so! To make a promise and then ignore it torpedoes your credibility!

Wrapping things up
About 10 minutes before wrap-up time, do a "time check" that lets participants know they've got time for one or two more questions. A few minutes before the meeting is scheduled to end, move from your last question/answer to a summary of next steps and key points about the primary topic of the meeting (what you want people to walk away from the meeting thinking, doing or knowing).

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