When you decide to hold a business meeting, the factors that determine whether or not it was productive was the manner of discussion that occurred. It can be very easy for a meeting to feel like a waste of time if a plan of attack is not made in advance or if the conversation drones on into meaningless topics. Here are some ways to help make sure your next meeting feels productive.
Figure out what the meeting is about ahead of time
Before you hold a meeting you must first decide what the meeting is going to be about. Set a clear goal beforehand regarding what will be discussed and make sure everyone attending the meeting understands what topics will come up during the conversation. This allows the attendees of the meeting to have an idea of how they can contribute to make the meeting more productive ahead of time as they can bring ideas and topics that will add to the conversation.
Set time limits
Make sure you have limited time for the meeting. While this might sound counterproductive to cut the time you have short, having no time limit might cause the meeting to drag on and cause slow down to occur where nothing productive is happening. By introducing a time limit to the meeting the attendees know that they have limited time to speak, meaning they will come into the meeting more focused and wary that the time they have is short and will in turn make more effective use of the given time.
Have a notetaker
Have someone in the meeting be the designated note taker. Their role will be to record useful ideas or points brought up in the meeting that can be helpful in the future. This can also be a helpful when determining a new course of action as ideas brought up in the meeting are now preserved on something physical.
Make sure you wrap up concisely
When ending the meeting, try to wrap up by bringing up everything of note that was introduced within the meeting. This can coincide with the notetaker. The purpose of doing so is to make sure everyone leaves the meeting with the same mindset, and reflect on the progress made.
With these tips in mind, you and your attendees will be able to hold more productive meetings.
