How to behave in a meeting and what to do before a meeting

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We spend a lot of time in meetings.Here I refer to external meetings with the Commission, EP, Member States, and Stakeholders.

This piece refers to dealing with the Commission. They get so many meeting requests, the least one can do is not waste their time, and make the meeting useful for all.

I don’t refer to internal meetings. There are more than enough of them.

 

 ‘Why have a meeting

The real purpose of a meeting is to get a decision on an issue or to share useful intelligence/knowledge.

For every 30 minutes that the meeting takes with senior officials in the Commission, up to 5 or more hours of preparation goes into preparing for them. So, make the time count.

In advance

Here are some things you should do in advance of a meeting:

  1. Be clear why you want the meeting.
  2. Send a pre-read in advance of the meeting – at least a week before. Longer for more senior officials.
  3. Rehearse the meeting. Anticipate the questions you will be asked.
  4. Put yourself in their shoes. What do they need to know.
  5. Speak with the desk officer in advance. Be clear about the goal of the meeting and what you want to get out of it.
  6. Have a workable solution and flag it in advance. You want a decision. ‘ Turn up early, or test the IT system for the call.

In the meeting

  1. Copy Sir John Browne. Insist the person doing the work on the file is in the meeting. He ‘ knew that they were the people with the power of the pen.
  2. Check they have the pre-read and hand over the 1 pager to the participants.
  3. Ask if the pre-read was a fair representation of the issue.
  4. Ask if there are any questions. Answer the questions.
  5. If you don’t know the answer, defer to a colleague who does, or say you’ll get back in 24 hours.
  6. Be civil throughout.
  7. Be able to adjust your conversation from technical, policy to political.
  8. Answer any questions clearly and concisely. Avoid jargon.
  9. When the issue is dealt with, thank them, and leave.
  10. Take the walk back with the official to the lift.

After the meeting

  1. Follow up on any commitments and a meeting summary within 24 hours.
  2. Check back in to see if your case landed.

Don’t do this

  1. Don’t do 1-7.
  2. Speak gobbledygook.
  3. Say things you’ll regret, including bigotry, misogynist.
  4. Give undertakings that you’ll regret.
  5. Pick a fight in the meeting – verbal or physical.
  6. Not know the file.
  7. Be unable to answer likely questions.
  8. Bitch about their colleagues.
  9. Hold them in contempt. It comes across in the meeting.
  10. Be passive aggressive.
  11. Don’t do follow up.

If you think you or your colleague will do any of 1-11 find someone else to do the meeting.