Meetings can be productive and helpful—but they also can be inefficient and a distraction to the work day. Many meetings are held without guidelines or expectations, which causes confusion among those in attendance and rarely results in actionable outcomes.
Hold more productive meetings by implementing these three tips:
While it would be ideal to have everyone in attendance for meetings, that’s not always the case. Because of this, it’s important to take notes—not only to share with those who could not be there, but for yourself as well. When you take notes, you are more likely to pay attention to what the speaker is saying so you can jot it down correctly. These notes may come in handy later on as a reference to what was decided in the meeting.
The more people who attend the meeting, the more difficult it becomes it to be productive as a group. Before inviting people to a meeting, ask yourself what specific people may be able to contribute to the meeting and what they will get out of it for attending. When you narrow down your invite list, you’re more likely to have conversations that stay focused on your topic.
Have you ever been in a meeting when a decision was made but it wasn’t finalized by the group? It’s never okay to leave a meeting with everyone confused about what the decisions were and how you got to those decisions. As you’re wrapping up the meeting, clearly state what the decision was and why it was made. Follow that up by asking if what you just stated seems accurate to others and ask those in attendance to repeat the decision back to you.
Giving guidance and structure in meetings is important to the workplace success. Learn more about productivity in the workplace on our blog, or sign up for our next Leadership Presentation & Image Skills program.