Decision-focused meetings

How can you frame discussions, manage participation and end a meeting with explicit commitments?

1250 € per session, excl. VAT

In short

This half-day session of 3 hours provides practice in preparing, leading and concluding a work meeting. Through progressively structured role plays, participants practise setting the framework, sharing speaking time, handling disagreements and documenting decisions, then independently prepare for the next meeting they will lead.

Why this training?

A meeting goes off track when its expected outcome remains unclear: information accumulates, topics multiply and decisions are postponed. Distinguishing between informing, consulting and making decisions on competing priorities helps you select the right participants and devote shared time to the discussions that are needed. An agenda alone is not enough to manage behaviour. Interrupting tactfully, inviting a quiet person to contribute or making a disagreement explicit takes practice. Simulations allow participants to try different formulations and observe their effects before using them at work. Running case study: The fictitious organisation « Avelune Signalétique » must prioritise three orders before a workshop closure. During a coordination meeting, production requests a delay, sales argues for an urgent order and one person holds essential information without speaking up spontaneously. Application at work: In the following two weeks, lead a meeting using the prepared agenda, ask a colleague to observe how speaking time is shared and check commitments at the close. Review the decision record together to identify one behaviour to retain and one adjustment for the next meeting.

Objectives of this training

  • Formulate an expected outcome and a timed agenda.
  • Open the meeting by clarifying the framework and decision-making rules.
  • Share speaking time and refocus an off-topic discussion.
  • Rephrase a disagreement to bring out options.
  • Conclude with decisions, named owners and deadlines.

Who is it for and what are the prerequisites?

Roles and tasks concerned

  • Team leaders who lead coordination meetings.
  • Project managers and staff responsible for cross-functional meetings.

Prior skills

  • Have participated in work meetings.
  • Identify an upcoming opportunity to lead a group discussion.

What you will work on

  1. Preparing a discussion that warrants a meeting

    Objective: Define the collective outcome to be achieved. The purpose of the meeting, essential participants, advance information and the distinction between informing, consulting and deciding.

  2. Opening the meeting and sharing speaking time

    Objective: Establish a framework and balance contributions. Announcing the outcome, ground rules for discussion, open questions, listening and brief paraphrasing.

  3. Managing departures from the agenda and disagreements

    Objective: Maintain progress without closing down discussion. Respectful interruption, deferring secondary topics, distinguishing facts from positions and clarifying options.

  4. Deciding, concluding and preparing the next steps

    Objective: Turn discussions into verifiable commitments. Summary of decisions on competing priorities, checking understanding, named owner, deadline and follow-up of unresolved points.

What you take away

  • Timed agenda with an expected outcome.
  • Opening outline and wording for managing the discussion.
  • Completed behavioural observation checklist.
  • Decision record and plan for the next meeting to be led.

Method and assessment

  • Short instructional inputs followed by simulations and role plays based on the running case study.
  • Structured observation and peer feedback using a shared checklist.
  • Guided debrief: what worked, what will be adjusted and an individual commitment.
  • Preparation: Bring an anonymised agenda or describe a recurring meeting without confidential data. Identify a difficulty you have experienced: overrunning, someone monopolising the discussion or an unclear decision.

Observable criteria: The opening states the expected outcome, the time available and the decision-making method. ; The agenda assigns a duration and an expected output to each item. ; The facilitator invites a quiet person to contribute without putting them on the spot. ; An off-topic discussion is refocused using respectful wording. ; The closing secures confirmation of each action, its owner and its deadline..

Frequently asked questions

Do you need to be a manager?

No. The exercises are suitable for anyone who is required to lead a group discussion.

Can you work on a real meeting?

Yes, using anonymised material; the role plays mainly use the fictitious case study.

What supporting materials are used?

Role cards, an observation checklist and only tools authorised by the organisation.

How is progress assessed?

Through observation of behaviours, factual feedback and comparison between the first attempt and the repeat attempt.

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