Effective Meeting Skills

This highly interactive programme blends proven techniques with practical application, ensuring learners can immediately apply their new skills on return to the workplace. 

Topics include: 

• Principles and best practices for managing meetings 
• Starting with purpose and setting expectations for success 
• Creating clear, realistic agendas 
• Defining and managing meeting roles for maximum productivity 
• Encouraging inclusive and open discussions 
• Managing disruptive situations and behaviours 
• Summarising discussions, confirming actions and outlining next steps 

This course is ideal for anyone seeking to improve how they lead or contribute to meetings. It benefits professionals across all sectors who wish to ensure their time in meetings delivers tangible results. 

The training is particularly beneficial for: 

• Administrators and support staff 
• Team leaders and coordinators 
• Professionals contributing to cross-functional meetings 
• Project managers 
• Managers and supervisors 

English Language Competency
A good standard of written and spoken English is important to engage effectively with this programme.

On successful completion of this course, learners will be able to: 

• Apply the core principles of effective meeting management. 
• Design clear and realistic agendas to maintain focus and engagement. 
• Identify key meeting roles and fulfil their associated responsibilities to maximise productivity. 
• Lead constructive discussions that foster collaboration and result in clearly defined actions for follow-up. 
• Reflect on and enhance their personal approach to participating in or leading meetings, ensuring contributions are purposeful and aligned with meeting objectives. 

By developing these skills, learners will be able to transform meetings into powerful tools for progress and collaboration. 

Our tutors are experienced professionals with extensive backgrounds in leadership, facilitation and communication. Each tutor brings real-world experience, sector-specific insights and a passion for practical training. Their focus is on building learner confidence through engaging, hands-on exercises and personalised support. 

Learners benefit from guidance rooted in practical knowledge and a commitment to helping them succeed. 

Gina Ryan

Gina Ryan has over thirty years’ experience in people management and entrepreneurship, across the telecommunications and food industry, with a particular focus on employee engagement and development, and excellence in customer service. An experienced and qualified coach, Gina is passionate about continuous professional development. Over a number of years Gina has facilitated the professional growth and development of individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds: from community leaders, academic institutions, pharma, food production to data processing, maintenance and contact centres. Gina establishes rapport and credibility with clients from the first interaction – and co-creates the environment to allow clients to affect real change in their organisation.

Clients find her facilitation style to be motivating, powerful and instrumental in finding a depth of understanding and clarity on their own issues, while at the same time maintaining control of the options they choose to follow, and the actions they design; in essence using the learning environment to custom build the skills and answers to their own specific needs. As someone who facilitates development on the basis of experiential learning, nothing is offered to the learners that Gina has not had experience of achieving success with in the workplace.

Gina holds a QQI Award in Coaching through LIT Thurles and is a member of the ICF (International Coach Federation), she has also been invited to mentor on this course. She also holds Diplomas in L&D Principles and IT and CIPD (Certification in Personnel Management Practice) through UL, and has Associate Membership of CIPD.  She was a mentor on the Certificate in Coaching Skills Course in LIT Thurles for three years

Gina has recently completed the “Diploma in Mindfulness Teacher Training and Positive Psychology (Irish Mindfulness Academy) at the Marino Institute of Education.” The establishment of Mindfulness skills as a tool to enable individuals to build resilience, agility and design options for themselves in both work and life has been evolving over the last decade in workplaces globally. Building on the bedrock of Positive Psychology Gina supports learners as they apply these concepts in their own lives to create real and sustainable benefits, on both a personal and professional level. Gina has also recently completed a Professional Diploma in Digital Learning Design (GCU)

We use a highly interactive, practical methodology rooted in experiential learning. This ensures that every learner has the opportunity to apply new techniques, receive feedback and reflect on personal development throughout the course. 

Support elements include: 

• Pre-training consultation for in-company courses to tailor content to learner and organisational needs 
• Facilitated skills practice sessions recorded for feedback and individual reflection, allowing learners to experiment in a safe, supportive space 
• Guided post-training reflective activities designed to embed learning, support behavioural change and identify future goals 
• Optional personalised coaching sessions (either one-to-one or group-based) 
• Live training is available virtually or delivered onsite to suit the needs of the team 

Class sizes are generally limited to 12-15 participants to support personalised learning and individual support. 

Completing this programme provides a strong foundation for further professional development in leadership and communication. 

Next steps may include: 

• Coaching Skills for People Managers 
• Leading and Managing People - QQI Level 6 
• Project and Programme Management Courses