Online and face to face training, coaching and events across the UK and Europe

Effective Meetings

Turn meetings into purposeful conversations that make decisions, involve the right people and move work forward — without taking more time than they need.

You may have the idea, expertise or ambition — and still want more confidence in how you express it. Meetings, presentations, feedback and difficult conversations shape your experience of work and your next career step. We understand that growth is personal, not just a line on a development plan.

Professionals planning a project together
Thrive Training Lab

Explore. Practise. Make it yours.

Duration

Half day · 3.5 hours per half day

Group size

6–8 delegates

Format

Online or face to face

Price — Face to face

From £1,100

+ VAT

Price — Online

From £899

+ VAT

where understanding becomes useful —

Why this course matters

Time together should produce something the team could not achieve as clearly alone.

What you’ll explore in the Lab

A meeting should earn its place in everyone's diary. This practical half-day workshop helps managers, project leads and meeting facilitators plan and lead discussions with a clear purpose, meaningful participation and useful outcomes.

Delegates explore when a meeting is needed, who should attend and how to shape an agenda around decisions rather than updates. They practise keeping discussion focused, drawing out quieter voices, managing dominant contributions and handling disagreement constructively, including in online and hybrid settings. The session closes with a clear approach to recording decisions, assigning ownership and following through, so time spent together translates into progress afterwards.

a real challenge. a purposeful response.

The challenges this addresses

  • Meetings without a decision or a shared purpose
  • Discussion ending without clear action owners or next steps
  • Agendas overlooking participation and the decisions actually needed
  • Online and hybrid discussions dominated by a few voices

What this can change at work

A worthwhile meeting needs more than a diary slot. Planning around purpose, participation and decisions helps facilitators give discussion a useful shape and make space for different voices. Colleagues can leave with a clearer understanding of what has been agreed and who owns the next step, helping teams coordinate delivery and the business use meeting time with greater intention.

Purpose before invitations

Meeting organisers state the purpose and intended outcome when inviting colleagues, then build the agenda around the decisions needed.

Participation made deliberate

Facilitators invite contributions from different participants and bring discussion back to the agenda when it moves away from the purpose.

Clear closes

Meetings finish with decisions, named action owners and next steps confirmed aloud, giving colleagues a shared reference for follow-through.

Inside the workshop

In a group of 6–8, delegates bring a meeting they regularly lead and redesign it during the workshop. Short demonstrations lead into breakout activities and peer-to-peer feedback on purpose, agendas and participation. Delegates practise facilitating a discussion, keeping it on track and closing with clear decisions, owners and next steps. They leave with a reusable agenda template, a decision-and-action log and a practical plan to improve their next meeting.

Make Effective Meetings relevant to your business

Tell us where you want to make progress with deciding when a meeting is needed and who should attend. We can discuss suitable workplace examples, priorities and access needs before agreeing the scope. Choose live online or face-to-face training for your UK or European team, with delivery arrangements agreed before booking.

Discuss this course

What the training covers

The scope below sets out the subjects covered. Workplace examples and practice are shaped around your team within the booked format.

  • Deciding when a meeting is needed and who should attend
  • Setting a clear purpose and outcome-led agenda
  • Facilitating inclusive discussion and balanced participation
  • Keeping time and managing tangents or disagreement
  • Making online and hybrid meetings effective
  • Recording decisions, action owners and follow-through

What’s included in your booking

Your booked time and format
Half day · Live online or face to face, agreed before booking · 6–8 delegates.
Included in every course
  • Interactive, facilitator-led learningLive, hands-on sessions built around practice and participation.
  • Group discussionsShared conversations about real situations, so people learn from each other as well as the facilitator.
  • Breakout exercisesSmall-group practice, role-play and problem-solving, online or in the room.
  • Take-away materialsCourse materials, tools and templates to use back at work.
Facilitated learning and practical application
The subject coverage, exercises and facilitator feedback described above, with space to connect the learning to relevant workplace situations. The workshop description sets out the specific plans, prompts or tools developed in this course.

Follow-up coaching, refresher sessions and additional delivery days are not automatic inclusions; any additions are agreed in your proposal. Travel, venue arrangements and any software licences are confirmed separately where relevant. Prices exclude VAT.

Outcomes

The capabilities delegates work towards through the training and practice:

  • Plan a meeting around a clear purpose and desired outcome
  • Build an agenda that supports decisions and participation
  • Facilitate focused discussion and involve different voices
  • Close with clear decisions, owners and next steps

the next conversation is where it counts —

Take it back to work.

Choose a real situation where you want to apply the learning. Use it to turn an outcome into a manageable first step, then reflect on what changes.

Choose

Start with one priority: Plan a meeting around a clear purpose and desired outcome.

Apply

Try the approach in a relevant task or conversation. Note what felt useful and what you would adapt.

Review

Reflect on what happened, seek feedback where appropriate and choose your next step. Follow-up support can be discussed separately.

Bring this topic to your next event

We can discuss adapting Effective Meetings into a keynote or large-group session, focusing on the themes most relevant to your audience. Depth, activities, timings and any follow-up depend on the format and package you choose; an event session is not a substitute for the full course.

Explore Speaking & Events

More from Communication & Influence Lab

Three live online labs that build a growth mindset, sharpen everyday communication and help people take control of their time and priorities.

3 × 2.5-hour live online sessions (7.5 hours)Maximum 6 participants

Course synopsis

The skills that change a working week are rarely complicated — they are the ones people get to practise, try out and talk about. Skills Online Lab Part 1 brings together three foundations of personal effectiveness in one connected series. Participants start with how they respond to challenge and setbacks, move on to communicating clearly with different people and channels, and finish by taking control of their workload with practical prioritisation and weekly planning. Each live online session is a small-group working lab using participants' own situations, and the time between sessions is used to try a personal action at work and bring the experience back to the group.

3 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Outcomes — you'll be able to

  • Recognise fixed-mindset triggers and reframe setbacks as learning
  • Structure clear messages and listen to understand
  • Adapt communication to different people and channels
  • Prioritise workload with a simple framework and plan the week
  • Leave each session with a practical action to try at work

Included in every course

  • Interactive, facilitator-led learning
  • Group discussions
  • Breakout exercises
  • Take-away materials

Live online

From £1,499 per group+ VAT

Course details

Three live online labs to run meetings that lead to decisions, give and receive feedback with confidence and build the habits behind consistent high performance.

3 × 2.5-hour live online sessions (7.5 hours)Maximum 6 participants

Course synopsis

Teams perform best when meetings lead somewhere, feedback is shared openly and good habits hold up on a busy week. Skills Online Lab Part 2 focuses on how people work together and keep performing. Participants learn to plan and facilitate meetings that end in clear decisions and owners, give and receive feedback that is specific, fair and useful, and build the everyday habits that support consistent performance without relying on longer hours. Each live online session is a small-group working lab with breakouts, practice on real situations and a personal action to try before the next session.

3 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Outcomes — you'll be able to

  • Plan meetings around the decision or outcome needed
  • Facilitate inclusive discussion online and in the room
  • Give specific, balanced feedback and receive it without defensiveness
  • Build a small set of habits that support consistent performance
  • Leave each session with a practical action to try at work

Included in every course

  • Interactive, facilitator-led learning
  • Group discussions
  • Breakout exercises
  • Take-away materials

Live online

From £1,499 per group+ VAT

Course details

your next step starts here —

Ready to step into the lab?

Your business. Our training. Together, we thrive.

Bring the challenge your people want to work on. We'll shape a practical training workshop or coaching experience around it — with room to explore, practise and take a useful next step.

Start a conversation