Conducting a Productive Meeting
Meetings –you cannot escape them. Whatever your profession, chances are that you will have to hold or attend at least one meeting a week. More often than not, they are a productive exercise, however we have always been present in a meeting that we feel is completely unnecessary. What could you be doing to ensure your meetings are relevant and productive to your working day?
Inviting anyone and everyone to a meeting will only be a cause for distraction as the individuals that have no purpose to the meeting topic will be lose concentration and perhaps be a distraction to those who are actually required to be present. You could also be keeping individuals from getting on with more important tasks. Keep the numbers small and concise. Smaller groups are also more effective as everyone will have a chance to voice their opinion and be heard by everyone.
The time of day you schedule your meeting is the most important thing. Finding a time that suits everyone’s work pattern is the best approach. Depending on when your working day starts, mid-morning is most sensible. This allows time for employees to come in and settle down, check their emails and wake up with their morning coffee. By this time, they have set themselves up for the day, be aware of what they need to do however not got stuck in with anything too major that they can’t be dragged away from.
PowerPoint presentations with fancy slide affects and images can not only be a waste of time to create, but also lose the overall message you are trying to get across in the meeting. Technology is great, when needed, if it’s not a necessity to your meeting, then try avoid unnecessary gimmicks.
Holding productive meetings is largely down to keeping them brief, keeping them simple and only inviting the employees that need to be there. Poor meetings are down to bad management or letting the debate get out of control. Have a clear purpose and set of goals to work towards, and make sure everyone knows what they are and what is expected of them.