Meeting

A meeting is a specific type of gathering where people come together for a common purpose. It is not just a casual group of people talking to each other. Instead, a meeting usually follows a specific plan called an agenda.

People use these gatherings to share information or to engage in group decision-making. Anthropologist Helen B. Schwartzman defines a meeting as a communicative event. She notes that it involves three or more people who agree to assemble. This assembly is usually related to the functioning of a group or an organization.

Meetings can take place in many different environments. Some people meet face-to-face in physical locations like a conference room.

Others meet virtually through the use of communications technology. This might include a telephone conference call or a video conference call via software like Skype. A hybrid meeting occurs when some participants are in person and others connect digitally.

This technology allows people to interact even if they are in different locations.

There are many distinct types of meetings depending on their goal. A lecture involves only one presentation to an audience. A seminar usually includes several presentations for a small audience during one day. A conference is a mid-size event that can last one or more days. A congress is a larger event that lasts several days. Other types include workshops for active participants or exhibitions where people visit staffed stands.

These different formats allow groups to choose the best way to share knowledge.

In a professional setting, meetings serve specific organizational roles. A kickoff meeting is the first meeting between a project team and a client. It is used to discuss the roles of every team member. A staff meeting typically occurs between a manager and the people who report to them. A board meeting is held by the board of directors of an organization. There are also committee meetings, which involve a specific subset of an organization. Some meetings are even called "stand-up meetings" to encourage participants to be brief.

Organizers must also decide how often a meeting will happen. A meeting might be a one-time event for a specific task. It could also be a recurring meeting that happens on a regular schedule. For example, a company might hold a monthly "lunch and learn" event. In these cases, the time and place stay the same, but the agenda changes. In some cultures, a "flying meeting" refers to a meeting that is called very hastily.

These different frequencies help organizations maintain steady communication.

Researchers use conversation analysis to study how meetings work. They view a meeting as a distinct speech exchange system with its own rules. These rules govern how people talk and interact. Often, a meeting has a leader known as a chair. The chair may have a high position in a social hierarchy. They might also be appointed specifically to act as a facilitator. The chair often controls the topics of discussion and the order of speaking.

In formal meetings, the chair manages a process called turn-taking. This means the chair decides who is allowed to speak next. In informal meetings, participants often decide for themselves when to speak. The chair might only intervene if they need to. People also use non-verbal communication to signal they want to take a turn. At the end of a topic, someone may provide a pre-closing formulation. This is a summary of what the group understands. Silence is often used by the group to show they agree with this summary.