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“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted.” ~Unknown
While meetings are a great concept in theory—an opportunity for everyone to share ideas and be kept up-to-date on important business—anyone who has ever worked in a corporate environment is all too aware that meetings can become a drawn-out, ineffective waste of time and money. What makes the difference between a waste of time and an effective meeting of the minds? Communication! Check out our three tips for making your meetings as effective as possible.
Communicate Your Goals: Well before the meeting takes place, make sure you set specific goals that you want to accomplish. Make sure everyone is aware of these goals; include them in a memo for everyone attending the meeting, and review them before you begin. If everyone is aware of exactly what you are hoping to achieve, they will come better mentally prepared and more effectively contribute to the conversation. It will also keep people from straying too far off track.
Make the Agenda Known: After reviewing the goals that you would like to achieve, establish a set time frame in which you would like to address them. If possible, note the times on the memo, so there’s a structure in place to help keep everyone on track. If everyone is aware in advance of how much time you expect to devote to each topic, it will be much easier to keep your schedule on track.
Keep It Clear and Concise: When speaking to a group of people who may have very different communication styles, it’s important to keep your message as clear and simple as possible in order to avoid miscommunications and confusion. Being concise is equally important: meetings that drag on and on are everyone’s worst nightmare. When speaking in a meeting, make sure you are making your point in the shortest, most direct way possible.