Optimizing your meetings is one of the easiest ways to have a positive impact on your teams and even your entire organization. Here are 10 top tips:
Ask yourself why you're having the meeting
Is it because you always have it? Is it necessary, or has it outlived its usefulness or purpose? A canceled meeting is much better than one that wastes everyone’s time.
Invite the right people to the meeting
All, meetings are expensive, and those with too many attendees often aren’t productive. Ask yourself why each person is there and what their role is. If they don’t have a role, or if their role is served by someone better suited, don’t invite them (chances are they’ll thank you). For those who want to attend but won’t add value, offer to send the meeting minutes. Less is more when it comes to meetings. Most importantly, if essential decision-makers or stakeholders can’t make it to your meeting, consider rescheduling it. There’s no sense in holding a meeting only to do it all over again when everyone is available.
Declare what type of meeting you’re having
Are you informing, brainstorming, deciding, or something else? If you’re clear about the meeting type, you won’t have people brainstorming in the middle of an informational meeting, for example, where decisions have already been made.
Include an agenda in the meeting invitation
An agenda lets people mentally prepare for the meeting instead of thinking on their feet. Introverts like me will thank you; we tend to prefer structure over surprises.
Take notes collaboratively
Having everyone take their own notes can lead to confusion because each attendee may hear different things. Instead, take notes collaboratively, using Google Docs or some other shared document editing platform to ensure that everyone is literally on the same page. This is particularly helpful for people who speak different primary languages as reading what was said will complement what they thought they heard. Taking notes should be a shared responsibility.
Start on time
There are countless reasons that meetings start late, but it happens far too often. Delayed meetings early in the day can lead to a cascading effect that impacts everyone’s schedule for the rest of the day. Respect your colleagues by starting on time.
End with time to collect actions
Don’t end a meeting without first establishing action items. By leaving time at the end of the meeting to collect actions and owners, you’ll be making progress and even have time to catch your breath for the next task.
Turn cameras on by default, including people in the room with you
Turning cameras on lets you observe body language and discourages multitasking. It also levels the playing field in terms of participation for remote attendees.
Establish meeting norms
If you lead regular meetings with the same team, find out what team members want to get out of the meeting and what they see as the do’s and don’ts.
Validate the value of the meeting and seek areas for improvement
A social contract of team norms does no good if no one follows it. Always look for ways to make the meetings more valuable to the attendees.