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Time
Fact #12:
Middle
managers spend 80% of their time in meetings. Limit their
duration and make them more productive!
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Set a
time limit
At the very beginning of the visit,
select a time your visitor is not used to hearing.
"Let's meet for seventeen minutes." This
focuses attention on time and creates a greater sense of
urgency. Do
not allow interruptions, particularly when visits have
been previously scheduled
Interruptions take you
off the subject, create disruption, and break the natural
flow of the encounter.
Always keep a
timepiece where you can see it
If you commit
seventeen minutes for a meeting, then when about fifteen
minutes have elapsed, you know it is time to summarize
and bring the meeting to a close.
Use body language
Close your date book organizer, shuffle some papers
slightly, and move farther out on the edge of your seat.
When the time comes
for the visit to end, stand up
Don't interrupt
your visitor, but when it is your turn to speak, take the
liberty of standing up and walking over to your visitor.
By the time you arrive, your visitor is standing too.
Say, "It's time
for the meeting to end"
Or "Well, I
guess that sums it up," or "I certainly
appreciate your dropping in." Or "I really need
to bring this meeting to a close." Or "One more
thing before you go."
Give a summary for
action
Summarizing points agreed to in the meeting
will end the meeting efficiently and bring closure to it.
Have your secretary
(spouse or child) interrupt you if necessary
You
should provide your secretary with a prearranged time to
interrupt you. You can respond to the interruption with a
friendly, "We'll be through in 5 minutes" if
you want to wrap up the meeting or just thank your
secretary if you want to continue the meeting. This same
technique can be used at home when you receive a call
while entertaining a guest. How you respond to this phone
call tips off your guest as to whether the meeting is
coming to a close or will continue.
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