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Management Tip of the Day: Encourage meeting participation

A trader raises his hand to bid on stock prices as he works on the main trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange early in the trading session, December 8, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Segar

BOSTON (Reuters) - Meetings hold a lot of promise for your business but are rarely executed well, often because the same people hog the spotlight. Harvard Business Review has some ideas for turning that around.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

“You know the drill: A meeting is called to discuss an important issue but only the usual suspects participate. Everyone else is quiet and their opinions go unheard.

Meaningful contribution is the key to meeting success. Here are three ways to get more people involved:

1. Don’t dominate. This not only gives others less time to speak up but also conveys that only your ideas are important. Let at least three people speak before you talk again.

2. Be positive. Demonstrate that all ideas are valuable by restating important points. Thank people who are usually reticent for their comments.

3. Ask directly. To get input from everyone, ask each person for their thoughts. Don’t do it in a confrontational way. Try, ‘Do you have anything to share?’”

-Today’s management tip was adapted from the Onpoint collection, “Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter.”

For the full post: here

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