How do I establish a group?
    What is the best way to prepare a meeting?
    How should we arrange the seating?
    Help! I need to chair a meeting. What should I do?
    What sort of minutes should we keep?
    How can we deal with a difficult member?
    Can we remotivate someone who has lost interest?

These are just some of the many questions dealt with in Catherine Widdicombe's Meetings that Work.

A plethora of meetings and committees is one of the inescapable features of modern life. From small businesses to multinational corporations, from large charities to small voluntary organisations, from training courses to statutory services, from professional societies to church groups, from community organisations to political pressure groups, meetings are endemic. Meetings help society to move forward; they provide a vital medium for disseminating information and for decision-making. But, vital though they are, they can be deadening, rather than life-giving. Meetings that Work is a vital aid to helping make meetings of all sorts realise their full potential for development and enjoyment.

First published in 2000 and now reprinted, Meetings that Work is a 'how-to' guide, a manual and helpmate, arranged to enable the reader to focus on the specific requirements for a particular group or situation. Based on more than two decades of practical experience, the book is an invaluable vade mecum for all who attend or chair meetings.

   List of Contents » (PDF, 102 KB)

   Introduction » (PDF, 150 KB)
   Part 1: Establishing and re-establishing a group » (PDF, 167 KB)

Catherine Widdicombe is co-founder of Avec, an ecumenical agency for church and community work, and former President of the Grail Society. She has worked as a consultant in training and facilitation work with a wide range of groups. She is also the author of Small Communities in Religious Life.