Productive Behaviors in Meetings

There are identifiable communications behaviors that can be shown to have either a positive or negative influence on the interactions of the group. Individual group members can positively impact the group's function by monitoring the nature of the contributions, including their own, and working to ensure that interactions contribute to, rather than inhibit, successful outcomes.

The "Productive Behaviors" listed below help the group work efficiently, have meaningful discussion, and make the best decisions. The "Roadblock Behaviors" are those which impede progress and degrade the meeting's effectiveness.

Productive Behaviors

+ Initiating

Identifying the issues and defining the problem

+ Information Giving

Offering facts, data, ideas, opinions, perceptions or feedback

+ Active Listening

Seeking first to understand by soliciting opinions and information, clarifying, summarizing and remaining open to feedback

+ Proposing Closure

Using techniques for closure including: evaluation against interests, "straw" designs, testing for consensus, intuitive summaries

+ Maintenance

Process checking, management of the environment, encouraging, "gate-keeping," and time-keeping

Roadblock Behaviors

- Personal Attacks

Put-downs, "sharp" humor, false humor, and name calling

- Judging

Unsolicited diagnosing and criticizing before the appropriate time for evaluation

- Directing

Use of positional power and authority through ordering, threatening, paternalistic advising, and monopolizing time

- Avoiding

Diverting the topic, bird walking, and "stone-walling"

- Poor Listening

Planning ahead, daydreaming, and assuming

Caveat:
Some effective behaviors can be dysfunctional if not balanced with other effective behaviors. Examples:

• Over-defining the problem

• "Hyperactive" listening

• Opinion overload

• Excess maintenance behaviors (process over substance)

The above framework of communications behaviors is adapted from the work of Edgar Schein.