Five Useful Tips for a More Productive Meeting
We’ve all been there. Sitting through a meeting that could have been half as long and double as productive. If you’ve recently sat through your fair share of unproductive meetings, you’re not alone.
No matter your industry, profession, or experience, we all deal with our fair share of meetings throughout the week. While some meetings are more critical than others, they all deserve our undivided attention. Below are five useful tips for a more productive meeting.
Set an agenda and objectives
While most meetings have agendas, not enough of them have objectives. While an agenda is an overview of the meeting, the objective is the purpose of the meetings. The objectives are the goals of the meeting. Is the purpose of the meeting to inform, brainstorm, or plan?
Set the tone early on
Setting clear expectations at the beginning of the meeting can help increase focus and engagement. Start your meetings by explaining the purpose and goals of the meeting. If the meeting is a brainstorming session, setting the tone for an energetic meeting can help boost participation and excitement.
Take good notes
A lot is said during meetings, so strategically capturing all those notes is essential to getting the most out of the meeting. Keep these notes where anyone from that meeting can access them. Whether you’re looking for a quote to reference, a reminder to review, or a task deadline to add to your calendar, these notes can boost the productivity of your meeting.
Send a follow-up
Adding more emails to your inbox is never fun, but in this case, these follow-up emails can be a great way to tie your meeting in a bow. It helps keep the team accountable for what happened during the meeting and what the expectations are after it. Talk about productivity.
Get to work right away
There’s no greater waste of time than hosting a meeting that has no outcome. If you were assigned a task, carve the time right after the meeting to work on it. Not only is the content fresh in your brain, but it also helps you check off one of the many things on your to-do list. Nothing beats an immediate win in the day.
