6 Useful Tactics to Hold More Productive Meetings
May 10, 2018
Apex United Corporation wants to help you take advantage of your next meeting with these helpful tips:
1. Pinpoint the Purpose and Goal of the Meeting
Before you have people clearing their schedules or squeezing time in, ask yourself, “What exactly do we want to accomplish in this meeting?” This can help determine how often the team meets to make sure you’re following agenda. This time should also be used to set deadlines and appoint who is responsible for each part of the project. Once you balance the purpose and goal, then you can set discussion topics.
2. Assign a Notetaker
Notes can deliver and distribute a written record of your discussions, agreements, and plant your next steps. They also can be highly useful to people that need to be in-the-know that weren’t able to attend the meeting. Before the meeting starts, make sure you designate a notetaker. People who attend the meeting might miss a point, but at least they will know where to look to find any necessary information.
3. Set a Time Limit
People have often said that they lose interest in discussion during meetings if it drags on too long. Attention spans are around eight seconds, so people tend to get tired or bored sitting in one room for too long. If a lot of information needs to be covered during the meeting, give a five minute break for water or to use the bathroom. A ninety minute meeting should have forty five minutes on, a five minute break off, and then another forty minutes on.
4. Let Many Voices Be Heard During Discussion Topics
You don’t want your meeting to become exhausting with only one or two voices being heard. Switch it up by calling on someone who is quiet or not participating and ask them what they really think. You want multiple people to be heard during your meeting because they can offer a different insight. Go around the table and volunteer a question.
5. Never Run a Meeting without an Agenda
This is more of a secluded, personal goal. If your meeting doesn’t have an agenda, then it doesn’t have a purpose. If you feel a scheduled meeting is lacking a plan, then write down some key notes or points that you want to get across.
6. Start at a Weird Time and Aim to End Early
While most meetings start at the top of the hour sharp, keep things interesting in your department by starting at a peculiar time. This could give certain employees a few more minutes if another appointment is running late. This is also an attention grabber and allows people to know that you plan to start right on time. If you aim to end early, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to end early, but it keeps people from speaking too long as they might ruin their chances of getting out sooner.
These tips are meant to help meetings from turning stale or unproductive. Managing a meeting is almost an artform so plan to master the craft. You don’t want your time to be a waste, so keep in mind that meetings have a purpose. For more marketing and business tips visit our blog section!
