Public Meetings Training has been a staple in our shop for decades as companies seek to expand operations, get zoning variances or explain environmental risk. These meetings, usually done in the Town Hall format, can be quite contentious and may attract media attention. Furthermore, new communications technology and a media savvy public have combined to change the rules, as discussed in the summer newsletter.

Another area of change is the need to educate people on the best practices for meetings with the internal public. This is when groups of workers are brought together to be informed of change. Stories of pension plans gone belly-up, deductibles being doubled and ranked performance reviews that guarantee someone will come in last, can create internal audiences that are often as angry as the external ones, if not more so.

Internal audiences are different from external audiences in a number of significant ways:

• People may be tied emotionally to their property values or ancient redwood trees, but nothing outside of family defines and consumes people like their jobs. For many, a job is their income, health insurance, social life, and sense of self-worth all rolled into one.
  
  
• Despite a deeper emotional connection, internal audiences are generally more reluctant to be openly angry, sad, skeptical or indignant. Meeting leaders may say, "That went well!" while audiences leave with bloodied tongues and soaring blood pressure.
  
  
• Internal audiences have information the presenters may not know, such as who is on Ebay all day, who is a brown-noser and who is job hunting on company time. These bits of gossip can become corrosive if it is perceived that things are grossly unfair.
  
  
• The internal audience will have the chance to feed each other's unrest on a daily basis. Some will gladly share examples of how "things have gotten a lot worse around here." External audiences go back to their separate lives, generally.

Meetings training, including specific training for internal audiences, is an increasing part of our business. Big companies have communications and HR pros on staff, but not all are conversant in the special dynamics of these types of meetings. But for anyone who wants buy-in (and isn't that the point?) getting it right with your co-workers is every bit as important as getting it right with your clients or shareholders.

But remember, even if you have taken the class, done the homework and prepped your people, your associates can be a very tough audience. For many people, change of any kind is very stressful and even if you see the change as good, there are those who don't believe it and expect change to be bad. Often their skepticism is justified, due to past announcements that were spun like cotton candy and ended up being bitter indeed. Winning them over requires tremendous credibility and compassion while sticking to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They can handle it, they deserve it and most importantly it works.

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Elizabeth Weston, a lawyer in the London office of Merrill Lynch, settled out of court with her employer for $1.3 million last summer after claiming she was the victim of sexual harassment. The significance of this case to the season fast approaching is this - it all started at the office Christmas party at a local watering hole. It seems that a senior attorney, perhaps a bit tipsy, poured wine down Ms. Weston's shirt and made lewd comments. Things went downhill from there. Despite the fact that the party took place at a wine bar, it was recognized that office parties, regardless of location, are an extension of the office and therefore, the workplace harassment charges had credibility.

Another issue is the risk involved with serving spirits. At the vast majority of office parties, alcohol is served. Although the laws vary from state to state, it is generally understood that the supplier of drinks may hold some responsibility for the consumer's actions even after that person has left the premises. In other words - don't let the drunks drive, for issues both moral and legal.

Phyllis Diller used to say that the thing she hated most about office parties was having to look for a new job the next day. But the "get drunk and make a fool of yourself" party may be on the way out. Employment firm Challenger, Gray, & Christmas says their survey reveals that nearly 9 out of 10 company party budgets this year are either flat or reduced from last year and that only in certain fields, such as financial services, energy and pharmaceuticals, are lavish parties still common. Most other industries seem to be hosting luncheons and even potlucks, and parties at restaurants and bars are increasingly cash bar style. So - boogie all night is out and church supper is in. And since parties are more often held during normal work hours, this means no spouses or dates, which results in further cost savings.

A UK based placement agency, Office Angels, reports that among those who go to office parties, 55% are anxious about making a favorable impression and a full 38% think the party is a "potential minefield of political office pratfalls." They may be right. It seems 92% of bosses say they remember their employee's verbal gaffes and one in four says those incidents have a lasting impact on their impression of the employee. So much for letting your hair down.

With all the career pitfalls and potential for lawsuits, why have a holiday party at all? In fact, the Office Angels survey showed that 57% of respondents say they would rather stay home. Lending support to this view is etiquette columnist Miss Manners who has long contended that places of work have become far too informal and that the most appropriate gift from boss to employee is money, either in the form of a bonus or time off with pay. Honestly now, which would you rather hear, "Take the rest of the week off." or "Here is your drink coupon."?

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