subject: Conducting a successful business meeting [print this page] Conducting a successful business meeting Conducting a successful business meeting
When conducting a business meeting, there are many items you can do in order to attain success. Business meetings are a great way for the company to assess current issues, and to discuss upcoming issues. Involving many colleagues from around the company to gather different perspectives on what the meeting involves.
The first issue that would need addressing is to diminish what the meeting is for. What its aim is and what you want to achieve from it. From doing this you will know what outcome you are expecting from the meeting.
Secondly, you will need to construct a schedule. This can enclose a list of items you want to address and discuss to the members of the meeting. Include time allocations for each item as this will elude any chance of people speaking of other matters other than the ones you wish to discuss. This schedule needs to be handed to the including members a few days prior to the meeting; as many of them may wish to add certain topics of debate onto the schedule. You will then have to revise the current agenda and slot in the added items.
Another way of accomplishing success would be to establish roles within the meeting. This will make it run much more smoothly, and more efficiently. Choose a leader to run the meeting, and make sure they stick to your revised schedule. By doing this you are delegating a member to operate and control the meeting. Maybe think about choosing someone to document the outcome of the meeting. This way there will be a record of what happened at the meeting and what was discussed. This can then be handed out to all concerning parties.
Communication is key, in all aspects of life. So for businesses it is no different. Communicating well in a business meeting is almost certain to gain you success. Remember to keep outlining the objectives and details of what you are going to discuss, this way people will have something to prepare for the meeting, and you will have much more communication with one another on the items listed.
Lastly when ending your meeting, always briefly revise what was said and what the outcomes were, just to reinforce to the members present. Providing a summary on what was concluded will help people have a better understanding of what the outcomes were.
