With so many of us spending much of our working day in meetings, the way we prepare and run them is key to people coming away feeling it was a good use of their time.

Our PPADDA tool is part of our Work Together Get Results (WTGR) resources and using it may just help with your meeting planning.

So what exactly is PPADDA? Our Assistant Director in Health Informatics Julian Bates (and owner of a dog-eared WTGR toolkit), explains.

“ In PPADDA each letter represents six simple steps when preparing for a meeting you are organising, or are being asked to attend. Much of it is just common sense really, and as with everything, the importance of genuine preparation before a meeting absolutely fundamental. It’s a practical tool that we can all use.”

Taking each letter in turn:

P: Purpose – we should all know the reason a meeting is taking place and why we are being asked to attend.

• If you are the organiser why not provide the meeting’s purpose when sending out invites, or send a heads-up mail so they know what’s coming.
• Don’t feel awkward asking why you’ve been invited if you’re not sure.

P: People – having the right people at your meeting gives you the best chance of being successful in delivering what is trying to be achieved.

• Try not to rely on inviting the usual suspects.
• They’re likely to be inundated with requests, and may actually know someone who would be ideal to attend and contribute better suggestions.

A: Agenda – how many meetings have you attended when with one look at the agenda you sighed with dissatisfaction?

• In the run up to the meeting check your own requirements for the meeting are going to be captured with the organiser.
• Or why not create the agenda live at the beginning of the meeting?
• And remember – time is precious, so keep meetings as short as they can be.

D: Design – everyone should feel comfortable participating in meetings.

• Just a simple change like using video conferencing to avoid travel, or starting a meeting at quarter past the hour can really help attendees.
• If you’re going to be late, try and let the organiser know, and consider whether you actually join the meeting late as you may interrupt the flow of the discussions.

D: Dialogue – the meeting should be managed in a way that makes sure everyone sticks to the purpose and agenda of the meeting.

• The conversation should move forward towards a conclusion, with all participating, contributing and listening to each other, with concerns being dealt with.
• It’s important that you create an atmosphere in which everyone can contribute.  If people are quiet it might be that they don’t feel able to speak out.  It’s your job as meeting chair to ask them.

A: Action – Have you ever left a meeting thinking “so what happens now?”

Ensuring meetings end with actions representing the views of the entire group is essential to move forward and build trust.

Getting the WTGR full toolkit and training

The full suite of tools is available via the Work Together Get Results programme. It provides a number of tools that can improve the speed and effectiveness throughout the organisation when looking to implement change – it can even be used in your home environment.

Watch out for the PPADDA cards being made available in all Trust meeting rooms to help give you a reminder of how to improve the meetings you are involved in.

For any of you that are interested in learning more about PPADDA or the Working Together to Get Results Programme, the next two-day training session is being held on 25th and 26th July (more details here).