What types of behaviour do you find the most difficult to manage in meetings?

Transcription

1 Task 1 Difficult behaviour in meetings What types of behaviour do you find the most difficult to manage in meetings? Someone who: a. always arrives late b. spends the whole time doodling c. gets angry or upset d. keeps digressing on irrelevant issues e. goes out to answer phone calls f. raises a complicated issue just as the meeting is due to end g. needs the toilet half-way through h. sends texts or s during the meeting i. keeps glancing at their watch j. taps the table with their fingernails, a pen etc. k. uses the meeting as an opportunity to air their personal grievances l. does something else. (What?) Task 2 Ways of managing emotive participants Look at the suggestions below for dealing with people who are getting angry or upset. Choose the expression that you think would work best. 1. Help calm a difficult situation by acknowledging how the person feels. a. We can all see how upset you re feeling. b. You re obviously pretty angry about this. c. I can see that you feel strongly about this. 2. Try to find out why the person is being difficult. a. Can you explain why you feel this way? b. Why are you being so unreasonable? c. What s the problem exactly? Page 1 of 5

2 3. Show that you understand. a. I can sympathise with your concerns. b. Don t worry. I know exactly how you feel. c. I realise why you re panicking about this. 4. Encourage quiet participants when they contribute, even if you don t agree with their ideas. a. Thanks for your suggestion, but you really need to think it through a bit more. b. I think the basic idea is good, but perhaps we could discuss some of the details. c. Right thanks, Martin. 5. Be firm if people try to use the meeting to speak about personal grievances. a. This isn t the best place to discuss this. b. Leave your personal differences out of this. c. Could we discuss this after the meeting? Task 3 Meetings role-plays You are going to role-play four short meetings. For each meeting: Read the situation and objective below. Decide who is going to be the chairperson. Each participant should pick a role card. The chairperson should start the meeting by thanking people for coming and by outlining the objective. During the meeting, the chairperson should try to make sure that everyone has a chance to participate. The chairperson should try to deal effectively with any emotive or difficult behaviour Page 2 of 5

3 Meeting 1 Your company manufactures a car which has always been popular with older customers and families because the brand image is safe and reliable. For the last two years there has been a steady decline in market share. Discuss whether to continue to focus on your current target market or whether to create a new brand image to appeal to another segment of the market. Chairperson: Marketing Director Participant 1: You favour sticking with your current target market. You have been working for the company for 15 years and are very attached to the brand identity. Participant 2: You favour creating a new brand image. You ve recently joined the company and are scared of losing your job if the company s market share continues to decline. Participant 3: You think Participant 1 has very old-fashioned ideas and resent the degree of influence s/he has in the company. Also, your dog is dying and you re feeling in a very bad mood. Meeting 2 You work for a highstreet shop which sells CDs and DVDs. The company s profits have been decreasing year on year for the last 10 years. For this reason, there won t be any bonuses again this year, but there will be a 1% pay rise in line with inflation. The CEO wants to update staff on the company s financial situation. Chairperson: CEO Participant 1: Your partner has just lost his/her job, and your personal finances are already very stretched. Participant 2: You ve just inherited a large sum of money from your grandmother, so you aren t at all worried about money. Participant 3: You think Participant 1 is always complaining and you find him/her very annoying Page 3 of 5

4 Meeting 3 You work for a pharmaceuticals company owned by a US group. There is talk of relocating to the US. The CEO wants to sound out the top managers on how they d feel about the relocation. Chairperson: CEO Participant 1: You ve got a family with young children and you definitely do not want to move to the US. Participant 2: You ve just split up with your boyfriend/girlfriend and are keen to make a fresh start in a new country. Participant 3: You already hate having to have meetings in English. You certainly don t want to move to an English-speaking country. Meeting 4 Your company makes plastic toys, which it sells to retailers. It s currently August and one of your biggest customers has just placed a bulk order for Christmas, but your main raw materials supplier has gone out of business and you haven t yet found a new one. You aren t sure whether your other suppliers will be able to handle such a large order. Discuss whether to tell the customer that you can t fulfill their order or whether to take their order in the hope that you ll find a new supplier in time. Chairperson: Sales Director Participant 1: Your company prides itself on its honesty. You feel very strongly that you should explain the situation to the customer. Participant 2: The company can t afford to lose that order. You think you should take their order and pull out later if you can t find a new supplier. Participant 3: You believe you ll easily find a new supplier in time. Participant 1 is such a worrier! Page 4 of 5

5 Teaching notes Level: upper-intermediate and above (B2 C2). Class size: four and above (working in groups of three to four). Context: Business English. Time: approximately one hour. Suggested answers Task 2 Ways of managing emotive participants 1. c. This response acknowledges the person s feelings without using any judgmental adjectives such as upset or angry. 2. a. Again, this response avoids judgmental adjectives like unreasonable. Response c is too direct in English and would sound confrontational. 3. a. Response b is too personal and response c is too judgmental ( panicky ). 4. b. Response a is overly critical, as it places the emphasis on the individual rather than the group. Response c is too brief and would sound dismissive. 5. c. The other two responses are too directive and might make the participants angrier Page 5 of 5