Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with meeting

What kinds of questions do I ask during a parent/teacher conference?

lynnie-the-pooh — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:58:23 -0800

What kinds of questions should I ask my daughter's Kindergarten teacher during a parent/teacher conference? I'm trying to formulate some good questions to ask. One thing I will ask is.............is there anything specific I can do at home to help her. Also, she can read at the first grade level, or at least it seems that way to me. Should I ask the teacher if she could be put into an advanced reading class next year?

Step 2: ???, Step 3: Friends!

frwagon — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:27:52 -0800

How does someone with minimal social skill get the most out of an organized gathering? So, I've recently signed up with Meetup.com, and have a rather exciting week of meetups scheduled... but I've .. never really figured out how to MEET people at things.

My blueprint kinda looks like the internet meme - Step 1: Show up to meeting... Step 2: ??? ... Step 3: Profit!

So, I'm really excited about going, and can't wait to meet the people there, but I have no clue how to convey to the people at the meetup "Hi, I'd like to get to know more about you and maybe eventually hang out outside of the Meetup gatherings."

I've tried organized meeting things before, but always stop going because I don't get the connection with people that I hope for, and eventually sort of... give up.. Help me make this time different, HiveMind!

Meeting people?

yarrr — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:49:43 -0800

How do I meet people in this somewhat unique situation? I know this has been addressed over and over, and all over google, but I like to think my situation is somewhat unique. It probably isnt! I am essentially at a loss. I'm a 22 year old guy and frankly I feel lost.

Me: 22, no college education. Recently out of a relationship, which lasted 6+ years and all my friends are tied to essentially.

Great - so just go out and meet people, right? Not entirely. I work on a military base job-wise. My entire peer group there is easily 20+ years over me, all have families, etc - theyre at a different point in their life.

With that said, where I live is also basically on top of said military base, and well - in all honesty, there is not much of a social scene around here in my observation.

Any suggestions where to turn? I've tried to find dance classes, tried the two shitty bars we've got here, and tried to find people on meetup.com

Dont get me wrong, its not a small town either, but it is all military families and thats about it, leaving me in an awkward spot.

What should I do with a giant ballroom on a Tuesday morning?

tr0ubley — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:57:39 -0800

I have a gigantic ballroom reserved for a very small lab meeting. What crazy-cool things can we do to make use of this space at 9:30am on a weekday? Party? I have a recurring lab meeting every 2 weeks with my advisor, other graduate students in the lab, and a few scientists from outside agencies - roughly 10 people. Long story short, the only room on campus I could reserve for our upcoming meeting is a huge ballroom.

So I am thinking party. I'm sure something fun could be done with this huge space, but I am at a loss for creative ideas.

My colleagues are fun-loving, and the meeting is scheduled for 2 hours, but only one hour of actual content. We could potentially invite more people ... or I could keep it secret and surprise everyone. So I ask the hive-mind for some ideas - I am open to even the most off-the-wall suggestions.

How to make friends online

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:23:08 -0800

How does one make friends on an online dating site? I just moved back to the NYC/NJ area after graduating from college this spring. I don't have any friends here--the one friend I had from high school is now a med student in Southern California--and I'd really like to change that. Unfortunately, making friends isn't easy for me because I have Asperger's and social anxiety disorder. It's incredibly difficult for me to just go to someone's party or a bar and meet people there--I just don't know how.

So I try to find other ways to do it. I much prefer meeting someone online first then seeing them IRL, and also structured things like stuff on Meetup.com, but that's proving difficult in this case: with the Meetups, the event either conflicts with my schedule or is so pricey that I can't afford it at the time (I'm working part-time rather than full-time because of the economy, so budget-friendly activities are a huge plus). As for the online front, I'm not that active on any internet bulletin boards, a lot of my LJ friends don't live in the area, and I've tried the strictly platonic section of Craigslist, with very mixed results.

I've heard a lot of great things about OKCupid, both for finding friends and romantic partners, and so I'd like to try there. Thing is, I have tried OKC in the past for both myself, and it didn't quite work out--I rarely got any responses from people, and when I did, it never really came to a real-life meeting. In addition, while it was easy for me to message people if I was interested in getting to know them romantically, getting to know them just platonically was difficult, especially if that person was a female (I'm also a girl, and I don't swing that way). I just didn't know how to do it without being afraid that the person at the other end would get the wrong idea. I simply didn't know how to say I was only interested platonically through a site primarily geared towards romance.

I'd still like to give it another go, though. Has anyone had any success finding friends on OKC? What did you do and how did you do it? Any profile tips (mine needs a lot of work)?

Best corporate event venues in Boston area?

UMDirector — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:55:21 -0800

Best corporate event venues in Boston area? We are looking for a great location for an event in the Boston area. We have about a ten person meeting with small AV requirements and then either later that day or the next day will have a party for a couple hundred people. Ideally we would like to have both events at the same location.

This will not be for six months but we wanted to get a head start....looking at our options. We are willing to go as far South as Rhode Island or as far north as Nashua, NH. Ultimately we just want a really great, cool venue with outstanding service (including catering).

What to talk about - Do's and Don'ts meeting up with the ex's dumper friend?

zulonline — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:50:13 -0800

What to talk about - do's and don'ts on a meeting up with a good friend of the person who broke my heart quite badly a few months ago?
I am meeting up tonight with a good girl-friend of the man who broke my heart quite badly and "used" me for some time.

I don't want to create a bad impression , appearing/ talking too happy, or too hurt, or too indiferent etc, about my ex / (her friend )when I meet up with her as she is a good person and I like to keep / start a nice friendship as we were about to just before my broken up with her friend.

I need to emphasise that I am not interested in getting back with the dumper at all, just want to keep my ex's friend friendship.

I feel hurt still about the person who hurt me but I am moving on with my life quite well lately, and as it has been a few months since the broken up I am not as emotional any more. This may allow me to talk about different things , but whn the question arises about my ex situation/ broken up what it would be the best way to approach/ answer the question?

I know I should act natural, but I'd like to have some more ideas, Thank you.

I

"Umm, what do YOU think about my career?" won't cut it.

cranberrymonger — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:13:38 -0800

How do I approach a "career coaching" meeting discussion with my manager? I do customer service work for a large insurance company in Canada where I'm content but not necessarily permanently planted. I've a career coaching discussion scheduled this week and I'm not sure what I should say to my manager.

I asked him what I should prepare and he said, "It's your meeting, it's all about you. Maybe you've seen a job posting you want to talk about... anything you want!"

With my previous manager I usually stumbled through these meetings without any clear point or purpose. I find them awkward and I never know what to say. I can't do that with this manager and don't want to as I've heard he's helpful during these sessions.

How can I generate and direct half an hour of conversation about my career when I'm not sure what my aspirations are or whether my career will be with this company at all? How can I make the most of this coaching session?

Pick a rolling hard case for transporting meeting IT hardware

PetiePal — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:11:35 -0800

Help me find a good box to transport a projector, laptop, cables and power cords in, preferably with wheels etc. I'm the IT manager for a Solar Panel manufacturing company. We have numerous meetings out-of-office at local hotels/convention centers. Every quarter we also have a huge quarterly meeting. I always have to pack up the loaner laptop, projector, extension cords, power strips and cables which usually ends up being 2 bags etc.

I'm looking to buy some sort of hard case that with wheels and handle (like a roller bag but a case) that I could use to create 2 of these "Meeting in a boxes" so that when employees need them for off-site they can easily grab everything in one place. I need some recommendations on good brands or models of boxes to look into. It would house the following (for size estimates):

-Dell WX1609 Widescreen Projector
-Dell Latitude D630 or E6400 laptop
-PowerSquid surge protector
-Optical Mouse
-Extension cord (6ft.)

So nothing too huge really! Thanks in advance!

being a good host without going broke

ejaned8 — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:40:47 -0800

What's the usual room block requirements when planning a wedding or meeting? Any negotiating tips? I'm trying to reserve a room block but the fine print in the draft wants to make me responsible for in essence 100% of the reserved rooms (and release them 30 days prior). Do I have to go without a room block? It's for a winter weekend wedding in Rosemont/O'Hare (Chicago) area. I don't think Christmas should be a factor since it's three weeks before.

Howto record a meeting on a Mac?

terceiro — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 07:16:44 -0800

This evening, I'll be sitting around a conference table with my PhD committee, getting feedback on some of my writing. What's the best way to record the session on my Macbook? For hardware, I'll have my Macbook and newest generation iPod Nano. I will be doing most of my notetaking in pencil on the hard-copy draft of my paper. What I want is a non-obtrusive (my committee members are all old-school literature faculty and I don't want to distract them or me with tech) way to record the meeting so I can listen again later and get any of the stuff I miss the first time through.

I'm looking to see whether I need some hardware (a mic? Is the internal mic on a Macbook good enough, even when it is facing me and not them? What about the built-in mics on new iPod headphones?) or some software.

I've got a few programs that do recording already: Microsoft Word, Journler, VoodooPad, OmniOutliner, and probably others. I'd be willing to pony up for another program if it was worthwhile for this situation.

Of course, I'll want to play it back and listen to it later. If there's a better solution than just iTunes, I'd like to learn that, too. I don't need a whole transcription, but, I dunno: would transcription software be useful?

How to curb the degree of loneliness?

LilSoulBrother85 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:55:00 -0800

What to do when the degree of lonliness is too much? I am in a long distance relationship which is starting to get to me. I'm trying to make friends here but it's very hard to do in the DC metro area. Do you guys have any suggestion in keeping one occupied? I am gay male in a long distance relationship with a boyfriend. He lives in the west coast and I live in the east coast which makes calling each other a pain the behind.

He left November 2008 and I was strong until late January 2009. His absent started to get to me and made the weekends frustratingly lonely.

I've met one person online as friends but it did not work out because of conflicting world views. I met another person recently through CL and he seems like a nice person. However, he has lived here all his life and has more friends and obligations.

Also, I've befriended my roommate (I live with three other people) and his girlfriend, but I tread carefully not to be their third wheel.

Basically, I'm at the point of frustration of the rut I'm in. I don't want to appear desperate, but at the same time I don't want act like I don't need company. My boyfriend is constantly worried about me which I wish he wouldn't because he has a tough work schedule.

How do I meet female friends who're like me?

TochterAusElysium — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:50:27 -0800

Where's a good place to meet women like me, in my area, online or in real life? As I get older, I find that I have fewer female friends who are similar to myself in age and interests. Most of my peers are busy with children or high-stress careers, while I keep occupied with a job that's pretty much just a job, a dog, and an interest in the fine arts. I'd like to meet women more like myself, but so far have hit a lot of dead ends. I even placed a "w4w platonic" ad on Craigslist, but had few responses, and none of those really worked out. I hung out on the artists' site WetCanvas for a while, but the women I encountered there were either too religious or too busy with family.

Ideally, I'd like to meet liberal women in their 40s and up, involved in the arts, whose lives don't revolve around their offspring (certainly no disparagement intended to the childed, but I'm not into kids and am not comfortable with friends who can't leave the house without theirs). I'd like them to be dog-friendly, if possible, for occasional dog park visits and that sort of thing. Married or not isn't important, as long as they'd have time to hang out without the husbands now and then.

Since I'm interested in "real-life" friends and not just internet buddies, I thought there might be some local groups or events that I hadn't thought about trying (I'm in the Seattle area). I'm taking an evening class, but most of the other women are a lot younger than I am. I'm not opposed to having friends younger than myself, but I feel like I would benefit from the kind of relationship you have with someone who is almost as much a mentor as a friend, if that makes sense.

I don't want this to come across as judgmental or too particular, so if it does, maybe I need a wake-up call to open my mind to more different kinds of people. And I do have friends who are none of the things I've listed above: younger, with kids, conservative, etc. But I would like it if I had some leads on where I could go or what I could do to narrow down my choices and meet women more like me. It seems like there should be some kind of eHarmony or Match.com for friends!

MP3 recording?

prentiz — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:57:50 -0800

I need an easy-to-use standalone MP3 recorder to record council meetings. It would need to have the facility to take input from microphones. I'm looking to record council meetings so that they can be put onto the internet and listened to by all and sundry at a later date. I'd appreciate help in reccomending a recorder for the job - ideally something which records onto CDRs in MP3 - but I'm not wedded to the idea! Any help from Mefi in improving access to democracy much appreciated!

Books/resources on running community groups

symphonik — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:03:46 -0800

I fail at Amazon. Help me find a book on running a small community group. My sister has just started up an LGBT group in her large but very conservative town. I am trying to find her a really good book on how to run a small community group, like how to run effective meetings, host community events, run outreach/advertising/fundraising programs, etc.

Many (most) of the books that come up seem to refer to either intra-corporation groups ("task forces" and such) or small Christian ministries (whose goals, you can imagine, are probably orthogonal to the goals of her group).

Can anyone recommend some great books and resources on starting and running local community groups?

I'm so bored - how do I make my meetings fun?

emjay — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:59:00 -0800

How to make my meeting NOT boring! The (newly promoted) big boss man wants us to come up with ideas to make our weekly(sometimes bimonthly) meetings more fun and productive.

We currently start our meetings with a brief chat and we have a coordinator review projects 1 by 1 with people chiming in on their parts as they come up. What ways have you successfully used to jazz up your meetings and make them a little more enjoyable, while still covering the topics required.

I'm open to any suggestions as long as they wouldn't be entirely alien to a corporate/government culture.

I've already browsed this and this.

FYI - the boss does have a sense of humor, we're all a good group but we all get a little tense in those presentations. They used to be every week and it seemed too redundant so we switched to every 2 weeks.

Whiteboards everywhere!!

niteHawk — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:49:16 -0800

NYC-Filter... I am looking for some meeting space in NYC for a few meetings (probly 3 or 4 over the course of two or 3 months). The trick is, I would really like someplace that has walls of whiteboards for brainstorming. Does anyone happen to know if something like this exist either in the city or north jersey? My Google-Fu has failed me!

Planning suggestions for taking an 8th grade science class through a pretend town meeting?

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:41:28 -0800

Have you got any logistical or planning suggestions for leading an 8th grade earth science class through a pretend town meeting on an environmental topic? We have the topic - it will be about whether or not a local mining company should be allowed to dig a new mine, when their previous mine collapsed, likely due to the mine company's negligence. The collapse caused a certain amount of ongoing environmental damage. This is loosely based on some real life events in our area, some years back.

So far it looks like we will have the following stakeholders: (1) Mine Owners (2) Miners (3) Local Farmers (suffered damage to land) (4) local concerned citizens (5) Mayor (6) Dept of Envir. Conservation (7) Factory Owners (suffered damage to property)

I'm looking for logistical and planning tips for running this activity. The kids will mostly be given roles to play and talking points, and will have read up a little bit, but we only have one 60 minute class period to prepare, and then the following day's period for the actual town meeting simulation.

So - got any tips on running events like this with 13 year olds? Any ideas for follow-ups or assessments, so we can analyze what they took away from it? Any ideas for ways to make it exciting or shocking? (The material is interesting, but a surprise is always good.)

table + chairs + quiet

kalapierson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:28:28 -0800

In Manhattan: affordable evening and/or weekend meeting room rental, by the hour / by the day? All I need is a big conference table with seating for 15 people or so, in a quiet atmosphere, that allows class meetings (I want to teach small classes, open to the public, that need a roundtable setting rather than a classroom/lecture setting).

I don't need internet or phone or a reception desk out front or fancy chairs or a sleek corporate feel. Just simple, clean, affordable, quiet space that allows class meetings.

I'd probably be looking to rent for a few long evening and/or weekend blocks each month, but not on a regular schedule (couldn't be every Monday evening or every Saturday morning, for example; I'd need to be able to schedule some mix of different evening and/or weekend times).

What I'm finding so far are nice corporate spaces (way expensive) and dance/music rehearsal spaces (cheap, but might have lots of noise from adjoining rooms) and church/religious spaces (I'd rather find a non-religious space).

Where should I be looking?

Attending first Quaker meeting - what should I know?

clcapps — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:18:59 -0800

I'm attending my first Quaker meeting tomorrow. What should I know beforehand? I'm very curious about the Religious Society Of Friends, and think that it might be a good fit for me. So tomorrow I'm going to my first meeting. I don't know anyone there, though, and I'm not really sure what to expect. I know that it's an unprogrammed meeting... What will be appropriate to wear? Will it be odd that my fiancee and I are showing up, not knowing anyone? I don't know... I'm very curious, and very excited about this, but I'm also very nervous.

How do normal people go about finding casual sex?

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:16:43 -0800

How do normal people go about finding casual sex? For someone who thinks that taking advantage of drunk girls in clubs is immoral and adult match-making websites are scams or dangerous, is there any outlet to meet nice (albeit frisky!) gentlemen and ladies? I'm an easy-going and friendly guy, but I have no idea how to broach the topic with single female friends, lest I scare them or have them consider me a deviant! How do I go about meeting (or finding) friendly, open-minded people who are open to the idea of casual (but fully consensual, not alcohol-fuelled) sex?

I'm not averse to the idea of developing friendships with such open-minded people, but I have no idea regarding the etiquette involved.

I'm a young, male university student in Melbourne, Australia who spends way too much time pontificating on societal hang-ups, if that matters. Throwaway email for the discreet/propositions: casualsexaus@gmail.com

How to meet other not-old-but-not-so-young-either musicians?

El Curioso — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:58:34 -0800

Where do gainfully employed, moderately settled, experienced mid-30s musicians connect to play together casually and on occasion rawk out? How can an experienced 35-year-old musician (guitar, learning drums) relatively new to a musically inclined town (Portland OR, 1 year) meet other decent players?

My stylistic interests are wide--rock, funk, soul, even electronica or something jazzy or hiphoppish--but I can't seem to meet other musicians like I used to.

I'm not interested in anything too intense off the bat, just having fun & jamming, maybe eventually writing some songs and/or gigging.

Ten years ago I would have just put an ad in the paper. Now I don't get out quite as much, and hanging in a smoky club trying to strike up a conversation isn't really my thing.

There's Craigslist and the normal classifieds, I know, although everybody seems to be looking for a solid 22-year-old drummer with MySpace clips to complete a band and go on tour. Not many of my friends are that musical. I've got a list of a few blues-jam nights I'm planning on swinging by.

What other avenues are there?

Moving company overseas, any software to help with online communication like Video & live Screen casting for online meetings.

spinko — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:15:20 -0800

Moving company overseas, any software to help with online communication like Video & live Screen casting for online meetings. I'm moving out of the UK in a few months, got rid of the staff and office to save money. Moving to Spain...

I have a few concerns regarding communication. Anyone know any professional software to ensure great communication for both me and my customers.

Phone numbers:
All going into Skype Pro

Video conferencing:
Video chat in Skype seems very clear for 1 to 1 video meetings. Anything else?

Screen casting live:
Im a designer, would like to show customers in real time if we are talking about tweaking a design. So far VNC, give them access to my screen when im working.

Anyone suggest anything else or better software. Will pay if needed as it needs to be professional.

Oh yeah, im on a Mac.

I've got my first real meeting- Help me not look like a fool!

GilloD — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:12:55 -0800

I have a meeting with an important figure in my field. I've never had a real meeting, let alone with a person of any genuine import. Help me prepare! More details inside. I recently started my first "real" job. The title was a little vague- Marketing Assistant- and it's kind of evolved into "Online Marketing Guy". This is great- I'm down with the kids, I know my way around AdWords, I have a Twitter account. I did a lot of reading, caught myself up on the pace of modern internet marketing and started to make some changes. I feel confident.

On Friday, I have a meeting with someone who is a minor God in the pantheon of internet/social-media marketing. We're a small company and this meeting was set up by a much bigger and much, much richer benefactor. In short: This is a super rare opportunity and I can't muck it up. I've been unable to get ahold of this minor God's book, but I read his blog and all the articles he's written. So, again, I feel confident.

Here's what you can help me with: What are some pertinent questions about social media marketing you might ask a minor God of the field? More generally, what do I need to know about "business" meetings? 6 weeks ago I was another schlub with a BA- I've never done this before. It's a dinner/drinks kind of meeting, so lax, but I'd like to not look like a fool. I have a habit of kind of overlooking things.

Any tips/tricks are well appreciated. I'll post any answers to your Q's that I get to ask. I'm not really nervous about the meeting, maybe just more about conduct and decorum. How to handle someone who is essentially donating his valuable time. And Q suggestions are welcome!

Outdoor meeting in Central Park

octomato — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:51:37 -0800

Where to schedule a meeting in central park? I need to schedule a meeting outdoors tomorrow. Central Park seems like the best bet, since we're located a bock from it on W. 64th St.

Does anyone have an idea of bleachers or sitting area that can hold up to 30 people?

Thanks!!