CPD – Business Meetings: Making the Most

Business meetings are very important for businesses. They help people work together, communicate well, and achieve success in the company. In these meetings, employees can discuss goals, make decisions, and negotiate. Moreover, having the right skills is important to getting the best results from a meeting.

The course CPD – Business Meetings: Making the Most is designed to help people learn the needed skills to conduct a meeting. This programme will teach you how to get the best outcomes from meetings. So, if you are a team leader, manager, or someone who leads people, this course will be a great resource for you. 

What are business meetings?

Business meetings are gatherings of two or more people inside a company or between companies to discuss an important matter in real time. It can have different purposes, such as sharing updates, brainstorming, resolving issues, and collaborating with different departments. Additionally, these meetings can take different forms. They can be in person, virtually, or hybrid. 

Moreover, there are two types of meetings. The formal and informal. Formal meetings have a clear, important agenda that has one speaker and chosen participants. It can be about important decisions about company growth, goals, and success. It can also be about resolving issues. On the other hand, the informal meeting has a looser agenda that everyone can join. It can be brainstorming for party ideas or training for new protocols. 

Furthermore, to have the best result out of business meetings, you should have clear objectives and ensure that the people involved are actively participating. The most important thing to note about meetings is that they bring people together to share information and make decisions.

Business meetings duration

The ideal length of a business meeting depends on its purpose and agenda. Short, focused meetings often last 15 to 30 minutes, while strategic planning or in-depth discussions might require up to an hour or more. In actuality, a meeting is not just about gathering people. It is a process of preparation, execution, and follow-up. 

• Pre-Meeting: This is the preparation stage of the meeting. It involves setting clear goals, creating an agenda, and inviting the right people, prioritising quality over quantity. Additionally, ensure that all necessary materials are ready and share the agenda with participants in advance. This allows everyone to prepare for the discussion and contribute effectively.
• In-Meeting: This is the stage where the actual discussion happens. You present the agenda, keep the business meetings on track, encourage everyone to participate, and make sure all opinions are heard. This is also the time to make decisions and assign tasks. Additionally, it’s important to include buffer time for each agenda item. Buffer time acts as a short break for participants to decompress or attend to personal needs, such as going to the restroom.
• Post-Meeting: After the meeting, follow up on what was discussed. This means sending out minutes of meetings, reviewing action items, and checking on progress. Sending the minutes of the meeting after the meeting is important because it’s a way to make sure the notes taken are correct. If there are any mistakes, you correct them immediately to avoid misunderstandings that could delay progress. Also, make sure to follow through on the decisions made and implement any needed changes.

Recording a meeting 

Recording is an important part of business meetings. In this way, you can revert and have references on what was discussed. However, you should note to ask for the consent of all the participants before recording. This is because of ethical and legal considerations. 

There are different ways to take notes during a meeting. For hybrid and virtual meetings, you can use different recording tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, and many others. For in-person business meetings, you can take down notes. 

One popular method for in-person meetings is the Cornell note-taking system. In this method, you divide your paper into two columns. The left column is for questions and keywords, and the words here should be written in larger fonts. The right column is for writing details related to the keywords and questions in the left column. Additionally, the word in this part should have smaller fonts. Lastly, always make a template for writing notes to make sure that every note per meeting is uniform. 

Business Meetings and Negotiation

Negotiation is an essential skill to bring to a meeting. Some of the key purposes of a meeting are to discuss goals, reach agreements, and address conflicts. In these situations, negotiation allows you to express your opinions effectively and ensures that your perspective is not overlooked. 

Furthermore, negotiation is not really a way to push your agenda on everyone and make them agree with you. It is a two-way communication that allows everyone to meet in the middle. Additionally, it is important to negotiate in a respectful manner. This helps keep the conversation professional and makes sure the meeting ends on a positive note.

The CCM is offering the course CPD – Business Meetings: Making the Most to help you learn positive negotiation techniques and more do’s and don’ts in meetings.

Course Details

The course CPD – Business Meetings: Making the Most is about enhancing your ability to effectively plan, conduct, and conclude meetings. This course covers understanding the basics of what to do and not to do in meetings and mastering advanced negotiation techniques. Additionally, participants will gain insights into recording meetings, decision-making processes, and documentation practises.

This course is a big help for leaders, managers, and HR, or anyone who wants to learn how to make the most out of a business meeting. By the end of this course, participants will learn how to make meetings productive, engaging, and meaningful. Therefore,  this will help your team and organisation reach your goals successfully. 

Course Plan

This course is designed to help you understand how to get the best results from a business meeting. Through key topics and exercises, participants will gain the knowledge and skills needed for effective meetings. Additionally, each module focuses on an important factor to help the participants in mastering the art of business meetings

• How to Conduct a Business Meeting: Learn to structure meetings for clarity and focus.
• Types of Business Meetings Needed for a Concern: Discover which meeting formats best suit different organisational needs.
• Best Practises in a Meeting: Explore meeting etiquettes and the do’s and don’ts of professional interactions.
• Business Meeting Structures: What are the different steps to have the most successful outcome?
• Deciding if a Concern is for Business Meetings or Just for Emails: Understand when a meeting is necessary versus other communication methods.
• How to Take Minutes of Meetings: Develop skills and learn to use tools to document meetings effectively. Cornell notes system.
• Tools and Techniques to Help You Write Down Minutes of Meeting: Leverage modern tools for efficient note-taking and record-keeping.
• Exercises for Real-Life Application: Step-by-step practises of preparing, conducting, and follow-ups of meetings. 

Must-Have to Apply

No qualifications, prior knowledge, or requirements are needed to apply for this course. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to take CPD – Business Meetings: Making the Most. So whether you're new to professional meetings or looking to refine your skills, this course is tailored to meet your needs. 

Wrap Up

Business meetings play an important role in any business and need serious attention and effort. This is because meetings set goals, start success, and solve problems. When done well, meetings can be productive, effective, and meaningful.

Learning how to handle business meetings is a big advantage for professionals at any level. With the College of Contract Management course for CPD – Business Meetings: Making the Most, you will learn the skills and gain the confidence to make every meeting successful and effective. Enrol now to improve your communication and teamwork skills and take a big step toward becoming a better professional.

The schedule for CPD – Business Meetings: Making the Most is still in process. We will notify you once it is finalised. Materials and tools will also be given during lectures.  Meanwhile, if you have questions or enquiries, please reach out to our email or live chat.