The so-called meeting, also known as courtesy meeting, refers to the formal meeting between the host and the guest on official business. In official communication, a formal meeting between host and guest usually attracts a lot of attention. Under normal circumstances, an ordinary official exchange only needs one meeting. If it is important to travel, you can also arrange several meetings.
As the meeting is a formal meeting, it is obviously different from ordinary meetings. From the perspective of concierge reception, meeting etiquette involves four basic aspects: meeting time, meeting place, meeting content and meeting preparation.
I. Meeting time
In the eyes of outsiders, whether a meeting is important or not and the time of the meeting is often an important measure. The time of the meeting mainly includes the time and duration of the meeting.
1. Meeting time
The meeting time here refers to when the meeting should be held. Generally speaking, when choosing the meeting time, we should not only consider the bilateral relations, but also consider the actual situation of the meeting arrangement, and also need to obtain the consent of the guests. Generally speaking, there are three options for the specific time schedule of the meeting:
One is to meet immediately. Meeting immediately means arranging the host and guest to meet immediately after the guests arrive. In general official reception, direct meeting is the most common. Sometimes, in order to show great attention to the distinguished guests from afar, we can arrange to meet immediately.
The second is to meet later. The so-called later meeting is usually more common between the host and the guests from afar. It means that when the guests arrive, they should arrange appropriate time to rest, wash or change clothes, and then have a meeting.
The third is to meet another day. Sometimes, due to the inconvenience of the host and guests or one of them, or other reasons, the meeting needs to be postponed to a time acceptable to both parties. It's called meeting another day
2. Length of the meeting
The duration of a meeting generally refers to the specific length of time spent from the beginning to the end of a meeting. Any formal meeting that conforms to etiquette norms is not allowed to waste time at will, but its specific duration must be consciously controlled.
Under normal circumstances, the specific length of the meeting should generally be controlled within fifteen minutes to half an hour, and the longest is generally not more than one hour. A meeting time is too short, which will give people a sense of perfunctory; If the time is too long, it may make people accomplish nothing.
In practice, we should try our best to make both sides meet happily in any meeting, which is still unfinished. Therefore, key personnel should consciously grasp the time and pay enough attention to it. It is extremely impolite to delay time again and again, and both sides have nothing to say, or the host sticks to the rules, rudely interrupts the other side, and even openly orders the guests to leave.
Second, the meeting place
In order to reflect the seriousness of the formal meeting, it is absolutely necessary to carefully consider the specific location of the meeting.
When choosing the specific location of a formal meeting, we usually have to consider the following four basic principles: First, clean and tidy. Second, elegance and calmness. Third, there is less interference. Fourth, convenient transportation. Traditionally, the specific location of the meeting is decided by the host party in charge of reception, and the guests should generally be at your disposal. According to etiquette norms, there are roughly three options for the specific location of the formal meeting.
1. Main meeting
In general, most formal meetings are arranged in the organizer's office. This is the so-called main meeting. Chair meetings usually have two specific options:
One is to have a meeting in the VIP room. Holding a meeting in a special VIP room or reception room will not only help the host and guests avoid interference and concentrate on the meeting, but also reflect the attention of the reception party to the meeting. Generally speaking, any important meeting or meeting with important guests should be held in the VIP room or reception room of our company.
The second is to have a meeting in the office. Usually meeting ordinary guests or regulars can be arranged in the office of the relevant personnel of the receiving party attending the meeting. Meeting guests in your own office, although it may be disturbed to some extent, can often reflect the extraordinary relationship between host and guests.
2. Guest meeting
Sometimes, in order to show the importance of the guests received, the host often chooses the meeting place in the other party's temporary residence, which is called a guest meeting. Guest meetings usually have two basic options:
One is the space that * * enjoys. When the host pays a formal visit to the guests, the meeting can be arranged in the public space such as the hotel where the other party temporarily stays, the reception room of the hotel, the coffee shop or the tea room. This choice is generally more formal.
The second is private space. If the host and the guests are familiar with each other, they can sometimes arrange for the guests to meet directly in the guest room where the guests stay. This choice often makes people feel kind and natural.
Meet in different places
Meeting in a different place, also known as meeting in a third place, means that for some reason, the specific place of meeting is neither the host's office nor the guest's office or temporary residence, but some other place acceptable to both the host and the guest.
In general, the specific places to meet in different places are clubs, cafes or hotels, restaurants and tea rooms, and sometimes it is possible to choose the offices or private houses of both parties or friends of one of them.
It should be noted that in order to show seriousness, ordinary official meetings should not be arranged in the private residence of someone on the host side. In other words, meetings held in private homes can only be called private meetings, which are often not as formal as formal meetings.
Third, the content of the meeting.
In a formal formal meeting, the specific content of the meeting is very important. Its choice is often directly related to the success or failure of the meeting to some extent.
When considering the specific content of the meeting, the host mainly needs to pay attention to the participants and the basic topics.
1. Participants
Any formal meeting should exclude the participation of irrelevant personnel. Therefore, it is necessary for the organizers to carefully consider the specific list of their own participants. Under normal circumstances, the main participants in the meeting should include relevant personnel in the following aspects:
One is the head of the unit. Under normal circumstances, formal meetings should be attended by the person in charge of the unit. The more responsible persons of this unit attend the meeting, the higher their specific positions and status, which can reflect the importance that this unit attaches to this meeting.
The second is business-related personnel. Although most ceremonial official meetings do not involve in-depth substantive content, some business personnel should be arranged to attend, so that the two sides can get in touch as soon as possible and get to know each other better.
Third, people who are easy to communicate with. Sometimes, you can arrange an old friend of a guest, or someone with similar nationality, customs and religion to attend the meeting. The main purpose of this arrangement is to help the communication between the host and the guests.
The fourth is the support staff. Translators, escorts and service personnel, as indispensable assistants of the meeting, naturally attend the meeting.
It should be pointed out that formal official meetings should be limited in scale. As far as its specific scale is concerned, formal formal meetings can be divided into two categories: first, plenary meetings. Refers to the meeting attended by all relevant personnel of the host and guest. Second, small-scale meetings. Refers to the meeting attended by the core personnel of the host and guests. The former is more polite, while the latter is more meaningful.
2. Basic problems
In an ordinary meeting, the topic of both sides should be relaxed and pleasant, which belongs to general communication and often does not involve substantive issues. Negotiations dealing with substantive issues are fundamentally different from purely courtesy meetings.
The basic topics of the meeting can be formally set in advance, can also be determined on the spot or freely played. But its content is generally nothing more than the following aspects:
The first is the introduction. The specific content of the introduction can be the brief introduction of the relevant personnel of both parties, or the history or current situation of their respective units. This kind of content is usually regarded as the basis for further communication between the two sides.
The second is the schedule. During the meeting, the host can briefly introduce the specific schedule of related work in the future, or the two sides can discuss this issue through consultation.
The third is to understand each other. The main purpose of many courtesy meetings is to get to know each other, especially the protagonist, so as to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the future.
Fourth, the preparation for the meeting.
In order to make the meeting successful, it is usually necessary to make some preparations. The more important the meeting, the more necessary preparations are needed. When preparing for a formal meeting, we should pay attention to the following four points.
1. conference room
The reception room dedicated to meetings often leaves a deep impression on the guests, so we must try our best to standardize it. The specifications of the reception room should mainly pay attention to the following six points:
One is location. If possible, be sure to keep the reception room in a relatively quiet place. Such as rooms facing the street, rooms near the gate, elevators, toilets and other places where people come and go, should not be used as formal reception rooms. If the unit has multiple reception rooms, it should be relatively independent and completely closed.
The second is lighting. The reception room should not only have sufficient light, but also have soft light. Curtains or blinds should be installed in the reception room facing the sun. Necessary lighting equipment should also be installed in the shady reception room.
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The third is the temperature. Generally speaking, the reception room should be equipped with air conditioning. Under normal circumstances, the room temperature is about 24 degrees Celsius. When the outdoor temperature is high in summer, the room temperature can be set to be about 10 degrees Celsius lower than the outdoor temperature difference.
The fourth is humidity. If possible, a humidifier should be placed in the reception room to keep the indoor relative humidity at about 50%. Relative humidity higher than 70% or lower than 30% will make people feel uncomfortable.
The fifth is cleanliness. A formal reception room must be cleaned by a special person. There are three specific cleaning contents: first, plane cleaning. Refers to the cleanliness of floors, walls and desktops. Second, cleaning household appliances. Refers to the arrangement and hygiene of special appliances in the reception room. Third, air purification. Refers to the ventilation or ventilation of the reception room. The three are often indispensable.
The sixth is decoration. There are two basic requirements for the reception room decoration: first, simplicity. In the reception room, avoid too many appliances, too many appliances, too many appliances, too many appliances, too many appliances and too few appliances. Second, elegance. In the reception room, all decoration designs should be solemn and generous, especially to prevent too many colors and chaotic patterns. Generally speaking, the main colors of the reception room should be limited to two kinds.
2. Seats
In any formal meeting, the host and guests will attach great importance to the specific seating arrangement. In a formal meeting, there are six formal seating arrangements: parallel, decision, relative, center, chairman and freestyle. Its specific operation methods and application occasions are different.
One is parallel. Side-by-side meeting generally refers to a meeting where the guest and the host sit side by side. This kind of equality often shows that the two sides are closely related and have similar status. Specifically divided into two situations:
First of all, both the host and the guest sit facing the front door of the room. This practice conforms to the seating arrangement rules of the top door. When both parties sit at the same door, they should pay attention to the right, that is, the host should invite the guests to sit on his right.
Second, the guest and the host sit together on the right or left side of the room. At this time, guests should sit away from the door, and the host should sit near the door, according to the rule of "far above".
The second is determinant. Sub-venues are a special case of parallel venues. It means that when the host sits on the left and the guests sit on the right facing the front door of the reception room, the other waiters on both sides sit face to face on their sides from top to bottom in a certain protocol order.
The third is the relative type. Family meetings usually mean that guests and hosts sit face to face. This lineup of the two armies against each other is conducive to the business of both sides and keeps a proper distance from each other. Specifically divided into the following two situations:
First of all, the host and guest sit behind the door, while the other sits behind the door. According to the most important rules of others, the former should be a guest and the latter should be a host.
Second, both the guest and the host are sitting on the left and right sides of the room. At this time, the guest should sit on the right after entering the door, and the host should sit on the left.
The fourth type is the central type. The central meeting is actually a special case of parallel meetings. It means that when the guest and host sit side by side, they usually follow the rule of being centered and ask the guests to sit in the middle. The positions on both sides should be held by the host.
The fifth is the chairman's style. When the host meets two or more guests at the same time and place, the chairman-style meeting is more common. At this time, the host usually sits facing the door, and other guests sit opposite the door. Sometimes, the host can sit at one end of a long table, and all the guests are invited to sit on both sides.
The sixth is freestyle. Freestyle meeting usually means that when a meeting is held, the seats of all parties are not specifically arranged, but everyone chooses their seats freely and arbitrarily. It is mainly used for formal multilateral meetings or informal bilateral meetings.
Step 3 sign
Name card, also known as table card or name card, refers to a special card with a name written on it, which is placed on the desktop in front of relevant personnel during a meeting, and its function is to make others know its name at a glance.
When preparing the signature, we must attach great importance to the following three points.
First, it is neat and correct. When writing a name tag, you should not only write clearly and neatly, but also ensure that it is correct.
Second, it is easy to identify. The font used for the name tag should be large standard regular script, and both sides should be written at the same time. In foreign-related meetings, foreign languages should be printed on the side facing foreign personnel and Chinese should be printed on the side facing Chinese personnel.
The third is to check carefully. During the meeting, it is necessary to check the signatures of each official participant one by one to ensure that they correspond to each other and avoid being tense.
put on
In daily life, one can think that dressing up and wearing a hat have their own advantages. In business communication, especially when meeting an important guest as the host for the first time, you are absolutely not allowed to dress casually. People's habitual view is that the clothes they wear when meeting others are related to their attitude.
When attending a formal meeting, the style of clothes should be solemn and generous, the appearance of clothes should be clean and tidy, and the collocation of clothes should be quite satisfactory. Generally speaking, we should treat the personal dress problem in the meeting meticulously.