Meetings are a necessary evil in most offices. They seem to take up so much time and make everyone less efficient.
But when they’re done properly, just the opposite happens. When a meeting goes well, you can share information efficiently, save time, and motivate your team to get more done.
The secret is knowing how to hold a meeting. When you follow these 10 meeting tips, you’ll be able to accomplish more with your meetings.
1. Decide if It’s Going to be In-Person or Online Meeting
In small offices, it may be easier to just have a small standup meeting in the hallway. But for larger companies spread out across multiple offices, an online meeting may be more appropriate to save time. Virtual meeting tips are essentially the same as in-person business meeting tips.
2. The Most Important of All Meeting Tips: Have an Agenda
When you decide to have a meeting, think about what your purpose is and what outcome you want to achieve. Share a preview with everyone attending ahead of time so they can come prepared with information or questions.
3. Only Invite the People You Need Most
Too many times, we’re tempted to invite everyone to a meeting. Think through who actually needs to be in the meeting and keep your guest list limited just to them.
4. Keep to Your Schedule
The biggest complaint most people have is meetings last too long. Get into the habit of starting your meetings on time and sticking just to the items on the agenda.
5. Take Notes in the Meeting
One of the best group meeting tips is to elect someone to take notes. This gives a reference after the meeting of what was discussed and any decisions made.
6. Create a List of Action Items
At the end of the meeting, recap any deadlines or tasks that were assigned.
Whether they’re setting up a complex database for clients or getting a pay stub sample for new hires, have a clear list of action items for everyone in the meeting. And make sure they know when it’s due and where it needs to go.
7. Have a Clear Leader to Direct the Conversations
Have one person designated to run the meeting. They should keep the conversations on topic and make sure everyone has a chance to contribute.
8. Allocate Time for Questions
Decide ahead of time if you want to have a free flow of questions throughout the meeting or if it would be best to get all of the information presented first. Let people know when they can ask questions so they don’t interrupt the flow of the meeting unintentionally.
9. Follow-up with a Summary
Send a recap of the notes including the deadlines and action items assigned in the meeting to everyone who attended. Make sure everyone understands what they need to do next to keep things moving forward.
10. For Virtual Meetings – Prepare to Be Onscreen
If you’re having an online or virtual meeting, always assume you may be onscreen. Even if the call starts with everyone's camera off, you never know when there may be a reason you’re asked to show yourself online.
Have a Successful Meeting
When you follow these meeting tips and tricks, you’re sure to have an efficient meeting that runs smoothly and stays on schedule.
Be sure to explore our site for other top tips and tricks to make your life more efficient!
