In today’s business environment the constant need to connect and collaborate is more important than ever. Meetings are a great way to make sure that everyone is on the same page, and they can also be a great time to brainstorm and come up with creative new ideas for your business. However, meetings also have a tendency to get off topic and go on unimportant tangents or sidetracks. Here we have listed some tips on how to make sure your next meeting is as efficient and productive as possible.
What’s The Point Of The Meeting?
The easiest way to ensure that a meeting will get off topic, is if you don’t have a defined purpose in the first place. Take some time to decide exactly what the point is of the meeting and be concise. Make a list of important topics and then go over it to see if any of the points can be emailed instead of discussed.
Be Exclusive
Ever sit in on a meeting and wonder why half the people who are attending are even there? Extra people just mean extra opportunities for unimportant chatter and conversations. If Joe from accounting has no business attending the creative meeting don’t invite him! If you’re worried about people feeling left out maybe have someone draw up an email about the most important points and distribute it throughout the office.
Be Prepared
Taking some time to organize a meeting beforehand can be the difference between an extremely productive meeting and a frustrating meeting that drags and nothing is accomplished. A simple PowerPoint presentation and a few handouts can help keep everyone on task and move the meeting along smoothly. Handouts can also have the added benefit of making sure everyone walks out of the meeting retaining the necessary information.
Stick To The Time Frame
The best and most productive meetings are most often the shortest. Keeping a meeting to a minimum of topics and then sticking to the topics is key. Everyone begins to get burnt out after a certain amount of time, and productivity in the meeting will begin to stall. By sticking to a time frame and having a set agenda, you can be sure that the most productive minutes of the meeting are being utilized to the fullest, and then everyone can get back to the other tasks at hand.
Consider Online Meetings
Technology is advancing rapidly and is making everything, including meetings, more efficient and productive. Consider an online meeting if you have coworkers or employees who may be traveling or work from home. This can significantly cut out wasted travel time. Just be sure that everyone is fully aware of how the technology works beforehand, or you could be derailed by time consuming technical difficulties.
Meetings are an important aspect to many successful and thriving businesses. By following these simple tips you can ensure that everyone walks away with a firm understanding of the issues that need to be addressed, and some fresh ideas to increase their productivity. Instead of walking away, scratching their heads and wondering why they just wasted two hours of their workday.
