Successful Meetings: How to Plan, Prepare, and Execute Top-notch Business Meetings

Shri L. Henkel

Jan 2007 · Atlantic Publishing Company

About this ebook

A study by MCI found that most professionals believe that over 50 percent of meeting time is wasted. More than 90 percent admit to daydreaming in meetings, 73 percent have brought other work, and 39 percent have fallen asleep. You might think that there would be fewer meetings. However, in the survey 46 percent said they attended more meetings than a year ago.

Meetings cost time and money. Many meetings end with no results or outcome. How can you be sure you are using your time and money effectively? The answer: with proper training.

Even MBA graduates have never had a course in how to plan, organize, and present an effective meeting. That is the subject of this new book which will teach the proper skills and training to get great results with every meeting, every time! You will learn the checklists for planning your meeting, setting the agenda, strategic planning, how the physical setting can be improved, how to properly open a meeting, handling difficult people and maintaining control, how to assess and evaluate your meetings, and the correct method to end a meeting. Good meetings don't just happen, they are planned and created.


Atlantic Publishing is a small, independent publishing company based in Ocala, Florida. Founded over twenty years ago in the company presidentâe(tm)s garage, Atlantic Publishing has grown to become a renowned resource for non-fiction books. Today, over 450 titles are in print covering subjects such as small business, healthy living, management, finance, careers, and real estate. Atlantic Publishing prides itself on producing award winning, high-quality manuals that give readers up-to-date, pertinent information, real-world examples, and case studies with expert advice. Every book has resources, contact information, and web sites of the products or companies discussed.

Ratings and reviews

The hardest thing that people do is to run productive meetings. Why is that? As a sales manager, I never let my meetings start unless the agenda is thoroughly detailed so we all knew the purpose of each section of the meeting. What action was to result from the each participant's portion of the meeting? Henkel's book makes it clear to me that we don't get results from most meetings because not enough planning has been done. Toastmasters clubs are the perfect place to learn your style and practice making good meetings happen. As a matter of fact, at Bagel Talk in Clearwater Florida, we call the meetings events to emphasize the importance of planning and of execution if the organizer fails. Just kidding. Training takes place in the Toastmaster clubs by vetting the speakers, the people who are to introduce the speakers, getting other participants prepared and on their game. This all help meetings become effective tools and the organizer develop a skillset that is transferable to the corporate world. And a career booster. Lou Polur

About the author

Shri Henkel lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Her desire to write began at an early age.She has finally been able to reach the goal of seeing her books in print, under her given name and her pen name. Shri owns a Management and Marketing Consulting business and is a freelance writer and marketing professional. Shri has 21 years of business management and 16 years of marketing experience. The knowledge she gained in this work has been invaluable in creating helpful handbooks for business managers and owners. These experiences include suggestions about techniques that worked and warnings about things that didnâe(tm)t. In addition to her non fiction work, she has four novels in print under her pen name, Nikki Leigh. She is beginning work on her fifth and sixth novels and two novellas. Her love of the coast, history, and lighthouses is apparent in her stories. On a trip to Cape Ann with her brother, Chris, she discovered the area that was the perfect setting for a series of books. The rugged land, hard-working people, and rich history were too compelling to ignore. Cape Ann, Eastern Point, and Gloucester, Massachusetts are the setting for her books which focus on the âeoeStormy Viewâe lighthouse. Her first novella is set along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and is the first mystery in a series. For more information about her work, visit her fiction Web site at www.nikkileigh.com or her business site www.sandcconsulting.com. She also invites you to visit her and other friends at the Readers Station. This site helps readers understand more about the settings and characters that make up your favorite stories. You also have a chance to meet and talk with authors. The Web site is: www.readersstation.com.