MINIMIZING MEETING MAYHEM
By
Rafael Aquino
Published October 12, 2022
For many people, meetings are a fact of life.
Whether it’s a board or member meeting here in our association, a
volunteer meeting at your child’s school, or a department meeting at
work, being adept at participating effectively and managing meetings
is a valuable skill.
Sometimes one or two participants will dominate
the discussion, steer it off-topic, and interrupt others, causing
long, uncomfortable, or unproductive meetings. You can use
techniques to help engage others, limit intrusions, and minimize
distractions, whether the meeting chair or a participant.
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Table the
discussion. If a conversation is getting particularly heated,
the chair or a participant can move to table the discussion to a
later date. This helps clear the air and allows for a calmer and
more meaningful conversation at the next meeting. It also
signals that debates will be conducted rationally and
respectfully.
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Take it offline.
When a meeting attendee takes a topic off course, everyone’s
time is wasted. A good tool for the chair to use—or for another
attendee to suggest—to get the meeting back on track is to
invite the member to continue the discussion privately. Saying,
“Let’s take this offline so we can talk more,” is an easy way to
get back on the subject without alienating the sidetracked
speaker.
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Use the agenda. The
agenda is a useful tool for keeping a meeting moving
efficiently. When a chair begins a meeting by saying, “We have a
full agenda today,” he or she sets the stage for productivity.
Periodically referring to the agenda during the course of the
meeting keeps all attendees focused on the discussion. If the
chair doesn’t have an agenda, ask the group to pause a minute to
create an informal agenda that simply lists the topics to be
covered or goals to be accomplished.
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Call on members. To
engage more reticent members of the group and to balance the
impact of more vocal participants, it’s helpful to call on
members by name to ask for their opinions. “What do you think,
Mary?” or “Do you have some input here, Steve?” ensures that all
members are valued. And you don’t have to be the chair to ask
for others’ opinions. However, you should understand your crowd
because this could be a slippery slope.
Being a board member is not easy task however the
members do count on your leadership to do what’s right for the
community. As such, you need to learn when to engage and when not
to engage. By applying one or all the above tips you will find your
meeting to be more effective.
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As the Co-Founder and CEO
of Affinity Management Services, Rafael P. Aquino leads his team to
redefine excellence. They serve community associations
efficiently |
and effectively with
dedication and passion. Rafael’s energy and positive
spirit is the foundation of Affinity Management
Services’ company culture, which instills enthusiasm and
excitement when providing expert advice to its board
members and relieving the day-to-day burdens of running
a community association.
Since 2007, Rafael has
developed a work culture that values responsive and
high-quality services. He has led his team by following
a proactive vs reactive philosophy. The same approach
Rafael instills in the day to day operations of each
association. Today, Affinity Management Services
maintains its success and benefits as a result of the
foundation Rafael has built and continues to foster by
providing educational seminars, continuing education
classes for association managers and board members
alike.
Rafael and his team help condominium and homeowners’
associations save money and improve their communities.
His calm, personable, and service-oriented nature helps
him to establish strong relationships with ease. Rafael
is known as a sincere and honest leader who looks out
for the best interests of his clients and communities,
and he strongly advocates for their needs. His role
requires coordination and communication, as such he
takes logical and intelligent steps to approach
challenges head-on.
As a graduate of Florida International University’s
electrical engineering program and a licensed community
association manager, Rafael’s education and skills equip
him with unique insights to tackle complex problems
through critical thinking. He understands how each
component within a system works together in order to
effectively arrive at solutions, techniques, and
conclusions. Therefore, as he manages the multiple
challenges of running a community association management
company, he understands how each property is its own
unique system and tailors’ specific services to assure
that all their needs are met.
For more information about Rafael P. Aquino and Affinity
Management Services please visit
www.ManagedByAffinity.com or call 1-800-977-6279
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Doral Office: 8200 NW 41st ST
Suite 200
Doral, FL 33166
Broward Office: 150 S Pine Island RD Suite 300
Plantation, FL 33324
O: 800-977-6279 ● F: 305-325-4053
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