It is estimated that managers in companies spend almost half their time in meetings. The bigger the company, the more meetings there are likely to be. At large formal meetings, there is a written agenda , or a list of items to be discussed. Minutes , or a written record of what was said and agreed, are usually kept. There are also many external meetings with customers, suppliers, bank managers, advisers, etc.
Meetings are useful because they allow instant feedback and discussion to take place.
A manager, often accompanied by members of his or her staff, uses a presentation to explain a project or a plan to colleagues. Visual aids, such as transparencies projected on to a screen, are often used to illustrate points in the talk. Presentations are also given externally to clients or potential clients. For example, an advertising agency might make a presentation of its campaign to a client. Presentations allow a large amount of complex information to be communicated to a number of people at the same time.