1. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings How to Quit Killing Your Coworkers by Eric Matson

2. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Business Necessities? many employees say meetings take up time –not productive –better use of time is possible employers say meetings are necessary –provide a forum to keep employees up to date –make it easy to distribute information to the group –acknowledge that improvements could be made

3. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Doodle Heaven? Sin: Not taking meetings seriously –arrive late –leave early –doodle throughout the meeting Salvation: Portray meetings as real work –make sure employees know the purpose of the meeting –provide agendas and structure the meetings –set out clear goals for the meeting and the employees

4. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Lengthy Losses? Sin: Meetings last too long –time could be better spent elsewhere –should accomplish twice as much in half the time Salvation: Keep meetings short by emphasizing the cost –keep meetings under 90 minutes –use software to make meetings more productive –remind everyone that time is money

5. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Digression City? Sin: Discussions move off-topic –people digress and bring up off-topic discussions –no one keeps the meeting on-topic Salvation: Make an agenda and stick to it –distribute the agenda before the meeting so people are aware –follow the agenda during the meeting –record off-topic ideas so that they aren’t forgotten but don’t distract

6. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Dead After Departure? Sin: Nothing happens once the meeting’s done –actions discussed in the meeting don’t happen –misunderstandings persist after the meeting Salvation: Create a common document outlining actions –use software to outline the meeting and produce minutes –make sure everyone has a copy of the minutes before leaving

7. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Honest to Not? Sin: No one tells the truth –people are unwilling to criticize –complete honesty is hard to find Salvation: Make anonymous feedback possible –allows honest feedback without fear of retaliation –people become more open –allow some avenues for regular discussion as well

8. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Missing in Action? Sin: Meetings lack important information –decisions have to be postponed due to lack of data –wastes the time of all parties involved Salvation: Bring the data to the meeting –hold meetings in a location where data is accessible –store materials in the meeting room –if possible, redesign the meeting space

9. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Hopeless Cause? Sin: Meetings never improve –people make the same old mistakes –efforts to change meetings seem like a waste Salvation: Practice makes perfect –monitor and record what works –be flexible and willing to change if things don’t work –record progress over time

10. April 5, 2005ENGL 393H: Technical Writing Meetings: Recovered Now? Make meetings real work Keep meetings short Stick to the agenda Use a common document Allow anonymous feedback Bring data to the meeting Practice makes perfect