Meeting

                      In any organization, meeting is an important vehicle for human communication. In a meeting, two or more people come together for the purpose of discussing a predetermined topic, often in a formalized setting. In addition to coming together physically (in real life, face to face), communication lines and equipment can also be set up to have a discussion between people at different locations, for example, a conference call, teleconference or an e-meeting. Meeting are so common and pervasive in organization or institution, however, that many take them for granted.it is usually forgotten that, unless properly planned and executed, meetings can be a terrible waste of precious resources.

Styles of Meetings

   1. FORMAL MEETINGS

                    These are the meetings that are governed by a set of rules or standing orders, which are agreed earlier. These rules determine how the meetings should be conducted. If you have to participate in a formal meeting, you should find out about the set of rules and procedures that you have to follow and act in accordance. These rules which are formulated may vary from one organization to another. To conduct a formal meeting, one requires a ‘chairperson’, ‘secretary’ and a standard period of notice. The notice of the meeting also contains the ‘agenda’ of the meeting determining the sequence of items to be discussed. The formal meeting may also require the attendance of a minimum number of members, so that any valid agreement can be reached. This group of members, who attend a meeting, is called as a ‘quorum’ and the meeting is termed as ‘quorate’.

  2. SEMI FORMAL MEETINGS

                   Not all meetings require a formal setting.

                   Nevertheless, even semiformal meeting benefits from well-chosen surroundings and a basic structure or protocol. Small semiformal meetings are ideal for problem solving, brainstorming, discussion of local issues, giving feedback and appraisal workshops. They include mealtime meeting, such as breakfast, lunch or dinner meetings. The semi-formal meetings are usually held due to time constraints of the participants, if no other time can be found for a meeting.

   3. INFORMAL MEETINGS

                   Informal meetings are the meetings which mark the immediacy of the problem. These types of meetings are useful for resolving issues or problems quickly and easily. Informal meetings can take a range of difficult forms and can serve a variety of purposes like,

          1. Impromptu meetings, such as in the corridor, by the water cooler or in the canteen. They can be held without any preparation to provide immediate resolution of minor problems.

          2. Virtual meetings are a type of informal meeting which can take place via video conferencing, E-mail discussion groups or chartrooms. A face to face meeting might not be always necessary or possible because of the restraints of time and distance. Thanks to the new media technology, a virtual meeting can go on either in real time for an agreed time period as a digital version of a face to face meeting. It can also go on over several days or weeks where people can join in at any time to ‘chat’ to each other about agreed topics. it also allows them to leave messages on a bulletin board and gather opinion from across a range of participants. However, the limitations of this type of meeting are that it depends on restrictions of access. There may be a protocol imposed by the host server, regulating access and agreement of meeting topics in the chat rooms and bulletin boards.