Tag Archives: leadership

Best in Class Award 2023

The Seattle Chapter was the proud recipient of the 2023 Best In Class Award: Program Winner for our 4-part educational series presented by Jess Hickey, titled “Stories They Never Told You About Business.” The presentations covered finance, human resources, marketing, and administrative topics, and everyone resonated with Jess’ honest, down-to-earth communication style and wit.

This is the first time we’ve done a series like this, and it was successful by all measurements; it was well-attended, received positive feedback, included tips that we could use immediately, and was enjoyable to attend. Having four guaranteed presentations took a little weight off the planning of our education calendar and attendees knew what to expect. They resonated with her speaking style, and Jess did a great job overlapping just enough fill any gaps between sessions without wasting time rehashing what we’d already learned.

Congratulations, Seattle!

Speaking of meetings . . .

At our September business practice dinner, Erica Loynd of DLR Group demonstrated best practices for holding effective meetings.

  • First, she distributed the agenda ahead of time, and in doing so, she engaged the attendees by asking them to share their meeting experiences.
  • Then, she began her presentation by telling the audience how her presentation will go (her agenda).

Those two actions alone helped the audience know what to expect at her presentation. And that’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it? Your meeting attendees should have a good idea of what to expect when they walk into the meeting (its purpose), and they should be engaged throughout the meeting (that’s right—there will be no opportunity for nodding off). And what about the rest of Erica’s other best practices for holding effective meetings?

  • Appropriate setting
  • Trust
  • Guidelines
  • Meeting record

Thank you, Erica!

Who is leading the meeting, and how effective are they?

When was the last time you sat in on the perfect meeting? The meeting in which the leader started and ended on time. The meeting in which the leader distributed the agenda two days prior. The meeting in which the leader did not allow attendees to negatively impact the meeting. Where are those great meeting leaders when you need them, and how can you develop that reputation? We asked local communications expert, Candace BelAir, her thoughts on effective techniques to ensure your meeting exceeds your attendees’ expectations.

SDA: One of the greatest fears people have is public speaking, but that doesn’t always mean they are presenting to a group of 100-plus people. Sometimes they have to lead a small-scale meeting, which you would think would be an easy thing to do, but their knees are still shaking. What makes leading a meeting so scary? Continue reading →