LISTENING AND TALKING SKILLS

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Introduction:
the purpose of this unit

The purpose of this unit is to give a general overview of the role of meetings and discussions in business and professional life. We shall be dealing with a number of aspects of the meetings and discussions. We shall lay down some general dos and don'ts in conducting meetings and discussions. We shall also discuss how to prepare the meeting or discussion properly, how to conduct yourself while in the meeting, and how you can increase participation by others in meetings.

Meetings come in many forms and can have many different aims. Meetings can be formal or informal, can be large or small and can be long drawn-out processes or quick, decision-making sessions.

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Essential rules for all meetings

Despite the variety of meetings, however, there are certain rules and methods which can be applied to all. The techniques needed to ensure a successful meeting are those which simply help communication and information exchange. Teamwork and co-operation are important to the exchange of information. If information and ideas are to be shared by all the participants then shyness is also a factor that must be overcome. On the other hand, the participants must not be overpowering so as to push others out of the discussions.

Participants must also feel they can speak their minds, and should not feel obliged to say what the others want to hear. To achieve this quality in the meeting, the chairperson should encourage free speech and should not put words into other people's mouths.