Well run meetings can save time and effort; they can be highly productive with measurable outcomes. On the flip side, poorly managed video calls and in person meetings can cause frustration and leave attendees wondering whether the time commitment was worth the sacrifice.
Your main objective should be to run meetings that your team will actually enjoy; they should see the value in attending and participating because what they get from the meeting exceeds their expectations.
Let’s run through the 10 steps you need to take to get your business meetings on the right track.
- Is the meeting really necessary? If you’re sending out an invite, you should have a compelling reason for asking colleagues to block out time. If the point can be resolved via email or on Teams, try that first.
- Have a clear objective and agenda. Send this out with the invite and make it clear that if anyone wants to add to it, they should do so prior to the meeting so that discussions can stay on track.
- Who really needs to attend? Ask yourself if some team members could be contacted via email instead. They will thank you for saving them time, but be careful that you don’t exclude any key decision makers!
- Preparation is key. Test your tech and have all files to hand prior to the meeting, so that no time is wasted when everyone is ready to start.
- Do you need to share any documents or questions before the meeting? If so, make sure you give teammates enough time to review your files and requests.
- Start and end on time. We’ve all had those meetings scheduled for 4:30pm on a Friday that overrun, and it’s frustrating for everyone concerned; no one likes their schedule being hijacked.
- Focus on the agenda. Keep an eye on the clock during the meeting and move swiftly on to the next agenda point so that you can cover everything in the allotted time.
- Leave time for questions and brainstorming so that all team members can participate and contribute. Allocating time at the end for questions and ideas ensures the meeting stays on track and no points are missed.
- Take notes and share minutes as soon as you can after the meeting ends so that discussions are still fresh in attendees’ minds. Plus, when you take formal notes and share them, you have a document to refer back to at the next meeting, keeping everyone accountable.
- Be positive and encourage participation. There is nothing worse than a meeting where you ideas to contribute, but are not given the space to do so. Exclusion breeds resentment so it’s important to make sure everyone feels they can speak and be heard. You never know where the next best idea will spring from!
If you need any help on meeting management or some fresh ideas on how to reboot your business meeting schedule, get in touch. In the meantime, I’ve created a FREE template to help you organise and run your meetings.
