How To Run Effective Meetings

An effective meeting brings together the right people at the right time to get the job done. It provides a place for open communication and discussion, and it delivers a measurable result. It’s important to know what you want for an outcome before the meeting starts. Meeting objectives vary depending on what you need to accomplish. Possible outcomes include:

1. Creating a plan for the team or a specific project
2. Making a decision
3. Generating a list of ideas to work on for the next meeting
4. Planning next steps

It is important to know your objective before beginning to plan any meeting. Once you determine an end result you can start the planning process.  

Meetings are an important part of running a business or a department, but not every process needs a meeting to get something accomplished. Before sending out a meeting invitation, ask yourself if it’s necessary to gather everyone together. Could the question be answered with just a quick email? A good way to determine if you need a meeting is to start an email. If it only takes you a few minutes to compose the email and the input you need from others won’t require a lot of discussion, you might not need to take everyone away from their desks. Ask yourself these questions to help determine if you need a meeting:

1. Can you solve the problem on your own?
2. Do you need to make a decision as a team?
3. Do you need discussion in real-time?

If you don’t need input from other team members and are in a position to make decisions on your own, your boss will appreciate you taking the lead and showing confidence in your work.

Learn More Sales Manager Jobs

Every meeting is different, but they all require some preparation and planning. The more prepared you are to run the meeting, the more effective it will be. The first step toward planning an effective meeting is creating an agenda. A clear and concise agenda with tasks for the attendees will help you stay on track.

1. Create an Agenda. Include the goal, topics for discussion, and an allotted time for discussing each topic.
2. Send the agenda to participants. Make sure to share the agenda with all the participants so that they know why they are invited. This gives team members a chance to prepare to contribute.
3. Ask for feedback. This is important because your team can tell you what they have to add or what they want to hear from others. You can adjust the schedule to accommodate everyone’s needs ahead of time.
4. Send relevant documents and paperwork to participants. Providing the participants with the information they need to prepare will make the meeting efficient and effective.
5. Address conflicts before the meeting.

The planning should also include assigning roles for team members before the meeting gets started. Choose a facilitator, someone to take notes, and if needed, choose participants to speak on specific topics. Make sure to fill everyone in and give them time to prepare before the meeting.

The amount of time you set for a meeting should be based on the meeting type and your goals. A regular team meeting should take only about 15 to 30 minutes, while a meeting where you need to discuss several topics and make decisions could take a few hours. Allow about 60 to 90 minutes for a strategy meeting and an hour for a brainstorming meeting. Always start and end the meeting on time. There is nothing worse than a meeting that goes on for an hour after it was scheduled to end, and nothing gets a meeting off to a rough start like team members waiting for the person in charge to make an appearance. 

An effective meeting will have thoughtful and engaged participants, and the fewer people the better. Refrain from inviting everyone you can think of, and limit the participants to those who will make meaningful contributions. Depending on the type of meeting, you might need a diverse group with different perspectives. This is often the case for brainstorming and creative thinking.

The best way to start a meeting is by stating the expectation that everyone stays focused. Let everyone know if multi-tasking is not an option. This will result in a room full of engaged participants. While it’s important to set the expectation that everyone stays focused on the agenda and the goal, it is also important to create an environment where participants feel comfortable sharing their ideas.

Learn More Work From Home Data Consultant Jobs

Schedule the meeting to maximize participation and engagement. Before setting the time, consider schedules to make sure it’s possible for all key participants to attend conveniently. If you have participants joining remotely from other areas, think about time zones.

Additional considerations when choosing the time is how our brains work. We are often more creative after sleep, so brainstorming meetings are often more effective in the morning. On the other hand, we can problem-solve better later in the day, when we don’t feel like we have a large to-do list ahead of us, so decision-making meetings are more effective in the afternoon.

Learn More Account Executive Jobs

An effective meeting has active participants working toward a common goal. Once you get the meeting going and start working through the agenda, there are some things you can do to keep everyone engaged.

1. Make sure that a few people don’t dominate the conversation. Ask everyone for their input and ideas frequently.
2. After completing an agenda item, quickly summarize what was covered, and ask others to confirm that you’ve made an accurate summary.
3. Make a note of items that might need more discussion at a later time.
4. Watch your participants and actively listen. Note their body language to see if they need a break, and make adjustments to the agenda as necessary. You might need to stop one person from talking too much if they get off-topic, or you may need to steer the conversation in a more productive direction.
5. Make a list of all the tasks and assignments generated by the meeting. Make sure you know who is responsible for each task.
6. Make it acceptable to table a discussion if it is not accomplishing anything. If something comes up in the meeting that isn’t relevant but needs further discussion, make a note and put it aside for later.

What makes a meeting effective? Ending on a high note. Before sending everyone on their way, summarize the discussion and create action items in a way that leaves the participants inspired and motivated. Strategies for ending on a high note include:

1. Assigning action items to specific participants when possible. Include deadlines so they have a measurable action plan.
2. Get feedback. Find out whether team members feel that the meeting was a valuable use of their time.
3. Leave a few minutes at the end of the meeting to discuss next steps, and let everyone know you will send a summary.

The written summary is a crucial part of the meeting. Make sure it includes everyone’s action items and the due dates. This will help keep everyone from forgetting what they need to do, and it will hold everyone accountable to the entire group. This write-up and email also creates an opportunity for people to email you back with any questions.

Finally, once the meeting is over, take a few minutes to debrief on your own. Think about what went well and what could have gone better. Use this information when planning your next meeting.

Learning how to run effective meetings takes some time and practice. Make sure to plan ahead, keep it engaging, and stay within the time limit so your team will stay focused.