Working effectively in meetings

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Meetings are of crucial importance to the work of community councils. It is at meetings that opinions, ideas, feelings or good intentions get translated into hard decisions, and it is those decisions that will ultimately be translated into practical action in your community. If you really want to influence what is going on in your community, then it is vital that you learn to participate effectively in the work of your community council's meetings.

It is perfectly normal that, in any meeting, the individuals present will have different, sometimes opposing, views. For this reason, it is important that meetings are chaired effectively so that there is a balance between hearing what everyone has to say on a subject and getting through all the items of the agenda.

If there is something of major significance that you want to raise at a meeting make sure that you tell the Secretary in advance so that it can be included as an item on the agenda. This lets the person in the chair make sure that sufficient time is made available to discuss your item. If you don't put an item on the agenda, be prepared to give a short presentation to the meeting setting out:

• a summary of the background to the situation
• what you think the central issue is
• what you think ought to be done about it.

Be prepared to listen to other people's ideas on the matter. They may have information on the subject that you don't, or they may come up with ideas that offer a better solution than yours. Remember that the key thing for a good community council member is to make things happen in the community. Point scoring at meetings is a distraction that everyone can do without.

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Sometimes you may be asked to participate in a working group to research some points for the next meeting. Working groups can play an important part in clarifying issues so that decision making is easier at future meetings. Although working groups may involve some extra time commitment, you should try as far as possible to get involved so that the work of your community council is spread evenly and you get a deeper insight into what is going on at meetings.

A formal record of what was agreed at meetings is kept in the form of minutes. Make sure that you agree with what appears in the minutes as these will usually determine exactly what action is to be taken.

As a general rule, it is much easier to get your way by co-operating rather than by confrontation. This is equally true whether in meetings, in dealings with other members or in correspondence with officials of the local authority. Community councils which make a positive contribution command respect.

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