How To Hold Effective Meetings

Everyone has been to meetings that are great and meetings that are horrible

. What makes the difference? There are a lot of factors, but take these tips into account and you'll be more likely to have a useful meeting.

Have A Reason For The Meeting This may seem obvious, but sometimes we just get in the habit of having a weekly meeting even if there's not much to discuss. It's okay to cancel a meeting, even a regularly held one. If there's no clear purpose for the meeting, don't hold it. And if there's only minimal information that needs to be given, do it with an e-mail.

Distribute The Agenda Make a specific agenda in advance - going into as much detail as possible - and be sure to distribute it to everyone who is going to the meeting (although you may want to give them an abridged version if they don't need all the added details). This will help people better prepare for the meeting.

Set A Time Limit Set a limit for each topic being discussed, as well as the entire meeting (and include these times in the agenda). Prioritize what needs to be discussed and allot more time for what's more important. Stick to the time limit no matter what.

If Presenting, Arrive Early Millions of hours have been wasted during meetings when the presenter isn't able to figure out how to work the stupid projector. If you're presenting, get their early and make sure everything is set up and check all the equipment. If you're especially tech-savvy but not presenting, offer to help the presenter set up.

Take A Break If people are getting restless or it's an especially long meeting, take a break or two. Even a 30-second break for people to stand up or walk around can make a big difference. If the meeting is an hour or more, schedule a longer break and consider providing refreshments as well.

Make Assignments This could mean making assignments ahead of time for during the meeting or at the end of each item of discussion. Including action items at the end of each topic is essential to make sure the time spent discussing and issue and coming to a solution isn't wasted.

Have Someone Take Notes In a similar vein, take notes yourself or have someone do it for you. Keeping track of what's discussed and what decisions are made ensures results aren't based solely on memory.

Have A Clock Visible If you're controlling the meeting this may just mean having a watch in front of you, but having a clock in a prominent place in the room is also helpful. This ensures everyone can be aware of the time and help keep things moving smoothly.

Interrupt If Needed It's not the easiest thing to do, but if someone won't stop talking or if the discussion has gotten too far off topic, feel free to interrupt and get people back on track. If people still want to talk about it, schedule that topic for the next meeting.

by: Jacque Crook

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