My idea of a perfect meeting.

One of our two assignments today is to post about the topic we have been discussing this week. This post is about how I imagine a perfect meeting. The other assignment we had in class today was a group meeting exercise, this is what I will use as a reference on the topic.
Organization is a key element of a successful meeting, as well as a good facilitator. The facilitator needs to make the group aware that they are in that position. To refer to our exercise this was not the case, one person had agreed to be the facilitator and gave up that position almost as soon as they accepted it. Someone else did step up and act as the facilitator. I think that it showed disorganization and started the meeting off wrong. Confusion is not a good thing in communication. Staying on task and on topic is another part of what makes a perfect meeting. Brainstorming can create many new ideas but can also lead people to get very off topic. The other end of that is that some people can get "tunnel vision" and stay on one point they got out of the brainstorm and not advance their thinking. These things the facilitator needs to control by guiding the others in the right direction and keeping them focused where they need to be. It can in my opinion be one of the most difficult aspects of a meeting. When brainstorming it is important to let everyone voice their opinions and to acknowledge them and discuss the positive and negatives of each opinion. When doing that you are collaborating so that the best outcome can be achieved. Another important part of a meeting is to stay on time and to keep it within a reasonable amount of time. If the meeting drags on then people tend to lose their focus. If you stay on one point to long people will also lose their focus. You need to have a good flow of the conversation. When coming to the conclusion it is important to understand which decision making process seems to be in play and to work with it. At the end the facilitator should clarify all points and conclusions that were made.
Simplified the keys to a good meeting are; organization, timing, proper collaboration, active listening, structure and clarity.
To refer to the meeting from this morning, I believe it was not a "perfect meeting". A lot of that had to with the attitude I presented and brought to the meeting. There were many other aspects that contributed to the way the meeting went. It was an exercise so I hope that the things that were observed are used as a tool to implement better practices in future meetings. I also hope that everyone can see the roles that they play and how attitudes can greatly impact a meeting.