What are effective strategies to make your meetings more meaningful and efficient? Are there alternative ways to conduct personal meet-ups, compared to the long wait times and unnecessary chatter that some meetings end up having? How can meetings become more productive?
- Prepare presentations and setups ahead of time
The initial step of having a time-effective meeting is to always prepare the presentation before the event starts. Whether the presenter prefers to use a whiteboard or a PowerPoint series, these materials need to be set up so there will be no issues during the course of the presentation. A lot of meetings end up wasting more time than expected due to the lack of considerations to set up materials as the presentation commences. Set aside 15-20 minute preparations to fix the audiovisual system and to properly place and test equipment when needed.
- Prioritize your objectives
A lot of quick meetings suffer from the lack of proper objectives. The point of gathering your employees together is to always find an objective. What is the main purpose of starting a meeting? It is best to be specific about your meeting’s purpose and set measurable objectives on what outcomes you would like. Meetings that generate results usually have only one to three objectives that are concrete and observable. These objectives should be given at the start to avoid steering away through pointless conversation.
- Set the time limit for your meeting
Whenever possible, it is important to give a time limit to all your meetings no matter how extensive you think they may be. In fact, setting a time limit also helps you to discuss your true objectives. Some meetings can be done during a lunch break, where people can eat and have a productive discussion. Other meetings can be held during slow afternoons just before work time is over. Letting your employees know so there is a time limit will also help them avoid inconclusive discussions and pointless chatter.
- Have a specific call-to-action after the meeting
This is where your objectives play a big role. Now, you need to set a statement on what strategies are needed to be implemented in your organization. Although objectives may be one general goal for all employees, this can be further broken down into tasks that will serve as building blocks with measurable outcomes. Specific call-to-actions may include implementing a new workflow process that will be effective the following day or holding an in-service training for employees who will be using new software.
- Reduce meetings whenever possible
When there is an opportunity to turn a meeting into a general announcement or a quick discussion, by all means, do so. This can make processes much quicker and avoid unnecessary time spent on tasks that do not bring results. If you notice that the issue needs to be addressed to an individual or a smaller group, you can make use of group messages, discussion boards, or even a personal meeting that targets the issue straight to the point.
This is not to conclude that meetings are not important for organizations. In reality, it is one of the cornerstones of setting objectives. When your employees listen and take action, meeting can generate positive results. The key takeaway from these strategies is knowing how to implement productive meetings that actually help in your organizational growth.
