Successful meetings and how to have them
Meetings are an essential part of PhD life. Here are some thoughts on how to have successful meetings:Reasons to hold a meeting:
- Share information
- Ask and answers questions
- Discuss issues and reach decisions as a group, including what actions (and by whom) are needed
- Promote sense of community
Keys to successful meetings:
- Who is in charge of meeting
- What is the purpose / objective
- Make an agenda
- Keep to < 1hr, use alarms if necessary
Some lessons from sitting in meetings in various contexts:
- Frame things in a positive light (e.g., use the word "challenge" instead of "issue")
- Avoid sounding like you are telling someone how to do their job
- Have an agenda, and go through it
- Anonymous voting may help ease tensions