Deck 28: Leading and Attending Meetings

Question 1

When leading a meeting, you should:

A) stay neutral and avoid aligning yourself with any participants or ideas.
B) treat everyone equally.
C) respond to ideas and contributions, rather than to individuals.
D) summarise often to help people keep on track and on the same page.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following is a maintenance function of meetings, as opposed to a task function?

A) Identify and solve problems
B) Gather information, opinions and ideas
C) Make a group more cohesive, or unified
D) Allow full and open discussion on important matters
E) Reach agreement

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is an action that meeting leaders should take during or after meetings?

A) Allow everyone to talk at once, if this is the direction in which the meeting discussion heads.
B) Immediately deal with agenda items at the start of the meeting.
C) Delay starting a meeting until everyone is present.
D) Inhibit free discussion if it obviously contradicts what the leader knows to be true.
E) Keep a note of all action items, responsibilities assigned and decisions reached.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Emphasising to meeting attendees the need to listen to each other without interruption, therefore creating a climate in which everyone's opinions, ideas and experience are valued, is an example of a:

A) meeting task.
B) meeting style.
C) meeting purpose.
D) meeting ground rule or norm.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 5

An information-giving meeting may not be necessary if the information to be shared:

A) is complex or controversial.
B) requires some discussion or information exchange.
C) needs to be heard from a particular person.
D) requires clarification or comments to help people make sense of it.
E) can be provided to those needing it more cheaply and effectively in other ways.

Question 6

The job of leading the process of the meeting, but not contributing content of their own, is the role of the:

A) meeting leader.
B) meeting facilitator.
C) minute taker.
D) recorder.
E) keynote speaker.

Question 7

Which of the following is not a purpose of team briefings?

A) Develop greater awareness and understanding of key organisational and workplace issues and results.
B) Explain financial, commercial and strategic issues.
C) Strengthen clarity of direction and information from senior management.
D) Quickly generate ideas as possible solutions to problems.
E) Allow questions and suggestions to be fed back from all staff to senior management.

Question 8

When you want people's attention to be on the meeting leader, which kind of seating arrangement is preferable?

A) A circle, hollow square or U-shape
B) A semi-circle
C) Chairs in rows
D) Boardroom-style around a conference table
E) Standing up rather than being seated

Question 9

If a meeting leader said to those in a meeting, 'This discussion is interesting, but I suggest we postpone it until next month's meeting, when I can put that topic on the agenda,' it would most likely because those in the meeting were:

A) daydreaming.
B) constantly criticising.
C) interrupting.
D) digressing.
E) dominating.

Question 10

Which of the following should be avoided when presenting information at a meeting?

A) Emphasising key points by drawing an analogy or a word picture
B) Using short sentences
C) Emphasising important points by making them three times and in three different ways
D) Using clichés like 'Let's go for it!' and 'Go get 'em!'
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 11

When a person does not need to attend a meeting but still needs to be kept 'in the loop', you should:

A) invite them anyway; then, if they do not attend, it will be up to them to find out what they missed.
B) ring them after the meeting and provide a quick summary of the main topics that were discussed.
C) send them the meeting agenda.
D) make the meeting's minutes available to them.
E) tell them they can catch up at the next meeting when matters arising from the last meeting are discussed.

Question 12

Which of the following should the minutes of a meeting not contain?

A) An accurate reflection of the meeting's tone and main themes
B) A detailed account of the discussion, conclusions and decisions reached
C) A record of the tasks assigned and timelines for any agreed actions or follow-up actions
D) The time the meeting ended and the date, time and place of the next meeting
E) The date, time and place of the meeting and who attended

Question 13

When planning the agenda for a meeting, you should:

A) allocate a certain amount of time for the meeting, but not for each topic.
B) start the meeting with a complex or difficult topic to get it out of the way.
C) never schedule breaks, as this can result in participants losing their focus.
D) schedule routine matters and 'FYI' items in the middle of the meeting to act as a break from more complex topics.
E) schedule items of great interest to everyone for the lull in the meeting that seems to come 15-20 minutes after its start.

Question 14

Which of the following tasks is involved in planning a meeting?

A) Establishing objectives
B) Planning and distributing an agenda
C) Selecting participants
D) Choosing a time and place
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 15

Meetings are more likely to be successful when:

A) the people attending the meeting are genuinely involved in the decisions made.
B) they have clear objectives and a tight agenda.
C) time is not wasted on irrelevant side issues.
D) good records are kept, meaning ideas, information and action plans are not lost.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 16

It may be appropriate to skip calling a meeting when involving others would only complicate matters.

Question 17

What is the ideal number of participants to have in a meeting?

A) One to four
B) Four to seven
C) Seven to nine
D) Nine to 11
E) Eleven to 15

Question 18

If you wanted someone to provide more detail about a point made in a meeting, you would ask a:

A) closed question.
B) clarifying question.
C) direct question.
D) probing question.
E) redirected question.

Question 19

A meeting at which everyone is brought up to speed on team results and progress on goals, where long-term projects are reviewed and where team members generally check in with the rest of the team is likely to be:

A) a general update meeting.
B) an information-giving meeting.
C) an information-seeking and information-exchange meeting.
D) a team briefing meeting.
E) an executive meeting.

Question 20

A meeting in which the goal is to identify and solve problems, gather ideas, and decide and plan how to improve work systems and provide better service to internal and external customers is called a:

A) planning meeting.
B) problem-solving and decision-making meeting.
C) quality improvement meeting.
D) innovation meeting.
E) team briefing meeting.

Question 21

It is acceptable to disagree with someone's ideas in a meeting, but a more desirable approach is to first paraphrase what they have said, then express your concerns or reservations and offer alternatives to make the idea work better.

Question 22

Which of the following types of virtual meetings can provide a totally interactive meeting in which meeting participants can share documents online and simultaneously exchange, view and work on them?

A) Chair-controlled videoconferencing
B) Leader-controlled videoconferencing
C) Web conferencing using collaborative technology
D) Voice-switched video
E) Continuous presence video

Question 23

For virtual meetings that run longer than an hour, it is unnecessary to schedule short breaks, because participants are not in a face-to-face meeting and so do not have to concentrate as intensely.

Question 24

The person who is responsible for arranging a suitable venue for a meeting, as well as preparing and distributing the agenda along with any necessary background information or paperwork before the meeting, is the:

A) chairperson.
B) keynote speaker.
C) secretary.
D) meeting facilitator.
E) recorder.

Question 25

In the majority of meetings (excluding formal meetings), when speaking, you should:

A) read from your notes so as not to make any errors.
B) address only the chairperson.
C) speak only to those to whom the item on which you are speaking is relevant.
D) speak to the entire meeting (i.e. all participants).
E) have one-on-one conversations with other participants as necessary.

Question 26

Which one of the following roles would it not be appropriate for a meeting leader to take during a meeting?

A) Minute taker
B) Gatekeeper
C) Coordinator
D) Compromiser
E) Clown

Question 27

If you are in a meeting and are expecting an important call or message, you should:

A) take the call and politely ask the other meeting participants to wait for a moment.
B) let your phone ring, but do not answer it.
C) turn off your mobile phone before the meeting starts, and follow up the call later.
D) switch your mobile phone to silent, but take the call in the meeting if necessary.
E) explain to the meeting leader why you need to leave your mobile phone on, put it on silent and leave the room if you receive the call.

Question 28

The correct order for a topic in a meeting to become a resolution is:

A) proposal for amendment → motion is seconded → propose it as a motion → vote → resolution.
B) vote → propose it as a motion → motion is seconded → proposal for amendment → amendment seconded → resolution.
C) propose it as a motion → motion is seconded → proposal for amendment → amendment seconded → vote → resolution.
D) propose it as a motion → amendment seconded → proposal for amendment → motion is seconded → vote → resolution.
E) propose it as a motion → amendment seconded → motion is seconded → proposal for amendment → vote → resolution.

Question 29

Frequently involving everyone in a virtual meeting is important so as to ensure that:

A) everyone feels part of the team.
B) everyone involved is fully mentally present and engaged, and not working on another task or checking emails.
C) everyone can get used to the accents of any non-native English speakers.
D) there are no long silences that could create unnecessary tension.
E) everyone remains interested in participating in the meeting.

Question 30

The increased chance of a misunderstanding occurring because voice and words are the only tool for communication used in a meeting is a disadvantage of using:

A) instant messaging or texting.
B) teleconferencing or conference calls.
C) web conferencing.
D) videoconferencing.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 31

Some meetings have a constitution, a list of written rules that guides how the meeting is conducted and stipulates how many members must be present before the meeting can take place. This is called:

A) a quorum.
B) a majority.
C) consensus.
D) a 'first past the post' vote.
E) proportional representation.