Source: SaurabhNow, back to the topic. Last thursday, on the 11th of February, our group held a discussion in a room at PGP. It was a nice, quiet place for us to work on our project as well as conduct our meeting. We were able to do so with little or no interruptions at all.
There were several good points to take away from the video of our meeting. First off, our group met up on Tuesday prior to the actual meeting to discuss the agenda. We wrote down the points that were to be discussed on Thursday beforehand. This ensured that the actual meeting will be smooth and quick.
The entire group was knowledgeable about the task at hand. We quickly started to voice our opinions and suggestions for the project when the meeting started. Even though it was the first time we did a meeting while filming ourselves, we were not shy to speak up in front of the camera. While analyzing problems, each of us was given opportunities to voice out their opinions. Since mental notes were already made, everything was done efficiently and any disagreements were solved quickly.
While I was browsing the video, I realised certain details that were raised during the meeting slipped my mind shortly after the meeting. I could have been preoccupied with my own thoughts during certain parts of the meeting, which resulted in this. We should've made someone the secretary and write down the minutes of the meeting. This way, all the details will be noted down.
Come to think of it, we did not digress from the topic during our meeting and each point of the agenda was addressed. From the video, the meeting was well coordinated by the group leader and the members, hence making it a fruitful one.
February 19, 2010 at 10:48 PM
Hi Qinxian,
Your team must have really done an efficient and effective meeting. From reading the posts of Christabel, Saurabh and you, I deduce that this is due to the following:
1) Preliminary meeting – You were able to discuss and set the agenda for the actual meeting. This allowed a smooth flow of discussion.
2) Preparation – You were all knowledgeable with the CG1102 topics and the problem that is being presented. This facilitated a continuous exchange of ideas regarding the topic. Everyone was able to understand and relate to what each other is saying and thus, build on one topic after another.
3) Focus – The topics that were to be discussed were resolved during the meeting. Everyone is focused on what needs to be done for that particular moment in time, thus, there is no time and energy wasted on sidetracking.
4) Active listening – Everyone was participating actively in the discussion. From your team’s posts, all of you continually exchanged ideas and allowed room for one speaker to finish what he was saying. This is a good sign of active listening. This resulted to a fruitful discussion and everyone was able to take home most of the thoughts from the meeting.
Good luck with your lab 3 and good job to your team!
Regards,
Paul
February 20, 2010 at 5:18 AM
Hi Qinxian,
First off, Happy Chinese New Year! Though it wasn’t much of a holiday (with all the projects and stuff), but still I managed to fully enjoy myself during the first 2 days of Chinese New Year.
In your post, you mentioned that your group met up beforehand to discuss about the agenda and take down possible points that were to be discussed in the meeting.
I felt that it was good practice to do so, as it allows the participants to prepare for the meeting beforehand.
Sending the agenda out beforehand may be a good way to make sure participants go to the meeting full of ideas and suggestions, but sometimes we will never know whether anyone bothers to read that agenda or not.
As expected, everyone attending your meeting turned up full of ideas and knowledge, ready to spill them all over the place. An additional good trait of your group was that everyone wasn’t camera shy, and was able to properly conduct the meeting without any restraints.
You also mentioned that during some moments of your meeting, sometimes our own thoughts prevented any information from getting in. It happened to me too, and I’m guess it happens to most people out there. Hence I believe that this video effectively helps us realize that, and makes us realize the importance of meeting minutes.
Cheers
Zhen Yong
February 20, 2010 at 6:11 AM
Hello Qinxian,
I am really glad to read about the wonderful experience you had from your first meeting. Without a doubt, pre-planning your agenda before the actual meeting was instrumental in bringing about this effect.
Firstly, I am really impressed by the amount of preparation your group had undertaken before the actual meeting. Not only does this lay the groundwork for the first meeting but it also helps clear the rather small but incessant doubts everyone has as they delve deeper into their preparation. Also by preparing beforehand, it ensures that everyone has the relevant knowledge of manipulating the given codes and data to a specific algorithm. This actually prevents the meeting from dragging on longer than it should as otherwise at every few junctures; a simplified explanation has to be made for team members who are not as competent in coding.
Secondly, I do agree with your observation that a secretary or minute taker has to be assigned in a meeting. During a meeting, it is highly unlikely; in fact I dare venture that it is impossible to remember every single minute detail unless we are blessed with a photographic memory. For the rest of us, our brains functions in such a way that we would pay particular attention to matters that directly affect us and less so for other less pressing matters. There is nothing wrong with this inherent human behavior because it enables us to prioritize our conscious mind and prevents it from getting overly cluttered.
Best Regards,
Khairul
February 22, 2010 at 9:10 AM
February 22, 2010 at 9:11 AM
Hey Qinxian,
It was great being in a team together and being a part of this team was a great experience and yes a very happy Chinese new year to you too and we surely are enjoying these holidays with loads of work though.
I too agree with you that we had a great meeting together. The fact that we discussed the agenda before hand on Thursday was really good and for sure beneficial for us. The way we started up our meeting and the way everyone participated was really good.
I guess you are right about the point that we should have had a secretary in our team who could have written down the important points during the meeting. But yes, the meeting was a fruitful one as we discussed most of the important points and the team work was well coordinated.
It is good to read that you felt that the meeting was a good one and we did not digress from the main topic which is very important. It was great reading your blog post and especially knowing your views as a team member. It was great working with you.
Cheers,
Saurabh Arora
February 23, 2010 at 11:00 AM
February 23, 2010 at 1:04 PM
Hi Qin Xian,
First off all, a Happy Chinese New Year to you and hope you have thoroughly enjoyed it apart from the hectic work we had to do during the recess week.
It is nice to hear from you that your group actually had met before the actual meeting to discuss the agenda for the meeting. By doing so, it ensured that each one of your team gathered effective knowledge to solve the problem. My team too followed the same approach and it proved to be handy during the meeting.
I personally feel it is important to write the minutes during the meeting as it ensures that all the details are noted down .Moreover,It is nice to hear that your entire team weren’t shy to speak up when being filmed even though it was a first time experience and I agree with you that quite a few times we get preoccupied with our own thoughts, as a result we couldn’t effectively listen when our other team members were sharing their ideas. It is better to correct ourselves and make sure we don’t follow it again in the near future. After reading your post, I could clearly conclude that your meeting was a fruitful one with each member contributing to the best.
Good luck with your lab and Lets improve our skills through this module.
Regards,
Santhosh