How to Run a More Effective Meeting

Meetings are both the scourge of the workday and a necessary part of doing business. By some estimates, managers spend between 35 and 50 percent of their working hours in meetings. If you do the math, that really adds up. During the course of a year, that’s approximately 43 straight days. You’d think there would be something to show for it.

By most estimates, however, the time we spend in meetings just doesn’t deliver the results it ought to. Since we can’t just scrap the idea of meetings altogether, why not reimagine them with maximum productivity in mind?

Here are some tips to help you run more productive meetings, starting today:

1) Be Prepared

Knowing precisely what is to be discussed during the meeting will help you get through everything you need to address.

• Prepare a detailed agenda beforehand.
• Invite only the people who need to be involved in the conversation.
• Make sure everybody receives a copy of the agenda beforehand so that they can be prepared.

2) Keep it Concise

One of the biggest issues people have with meetings is that, often, they are invited to attend even when the topic doesn’t concern them. Be sure your attendees have something to contribute or don’t include them. For example, you wouldn’t invite someone from legal to a sales meeting, or vice versa.

3) Start on Time – End on Time

If you are known for starting your meetings late, your attendees have no impetus to show up on time either. Time is a commodity these days. If you show respect for the time and input that others put in, they will reciprocate. Show up early, be prepared, and set an end time, too, so your colleagues will know when they can move onto the next thing on their agenda.

4) Maintain Order

One of the reasons meetings get off-track is when people are allowed to steer the conversation away from the topic at hand. Inevitably, there will be tangential discussions, but be ready to put them in a “parking lot” for review at a later date. Keep the conversation on topic, and you will have a better chance of getting the results you want.

5) Do Not Allow One Person to Dominate the Conversation

No doubt, your teams are diverse and comprised of many different personalities. Keep in mind that just because a person doesn’t talk much, it doesn’t mean they don’t have something valuable to contribute. A viable strategy is to ask each attendee to bring one issue to the table and allot an adequate amount of time for everybody to say their piece.

6) Follow Up

Avoid inaction by being very direct and clear about how things should proceed after the meeting. Be sure everybody knows what is expected of them, including who is responsible for what, what the deadlines are, and who they are accountable to. Ultimately, the next time you discuss the topic, you would like to see some progress, so provide your team with a roadmap for success.

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