How To Organise Effective And Productive Meetings Every Time
Last Updated on May 19, 2023 by Melissa S.
Meetings are a huge part of the business world, so we all have to attend a number of meetings every week or month for a variety of reasons. However, most meetings aren’t as engaging or interesting as we would want them to be. For example, if the agenda is unclear and you aren’t even sure who the person in charge is, you may not feel like contributing to any discussion that takes place. Hence, when organizing meetings for maximum effectiveness and productivity, there are a few important factors to keep in mind. They will help you ensure that attendees get the most out of the meeting and even look forward to attending the next one. Below we will show you how you can make your meetings more efficient and productive.
Determine The Purpose
Firstly, it’s important to start by determining why you need to hold a meeting in the first place. For example, this might be because you need to discuss next month’s business goals and objectives with your team. Alternatively, you might need to check on the progress of a specific project that everyone is collaborating on. No matter what the reason for your meeting is, it’s crucial to define it before inviting everyone. This will provide your employees with clarity so that they know exactly what they can expect when walking into a meeting.
Try New Engagement Techniques
Keeping everyone engaged can be challenging, so you may need to come up with new engagement techniques. Be sure to check out Vevox, which is a leading polling and Q&A platform, that you can use to boost engagement during your business meetings. The Vevox app offers a wide range of features, such as live polling, word clouds, quizzes, and Q&A sessions. As a result, you will be able to get real-time feedback and gauge the views of participants. Moreover, Q&A sessions can be anonymous so that everyone can have a chance to ask questions, whether they are in the room or participating virtually.
Show Up On Time
Nobody likes it when a meeting starts late and runs longer than expected. This means that it’s crucial to arrive early and start the meeting at the stated time to show you are committed to having an efficient meeting. As a result, this will make it more likely that your employees will also start arriving early and this way you won’t waste any precious time. It can also be a good idea to set aside more time than you think you need, as this will leave you with some room for questions or comments. Plus, if you end up finishing early, it’s unlikely that anyone will complain.
Assign Responsibilities
Ensure that everyone has the chance to participate in the meeting, as it will help keep them engaged and attentive. It can be beneficial to assign responsibilities to each team member so that everyone can concentrate on a specific aspect of the meeting. If there are any decisions that need to be made, it’s important to determine who gets to have the final say and why. Therefore, it’s advisable to develop a system that works for everybody and ensures that employees are aware of what is expected of them.
Encourage Everyone To Talk
You may have observed that in many meetings, certain attendees tend to dominate the conversation, resulting in some participants not having the opportunity to express themselves. Therefore, it can be a good idea to encourage everyone to speak up so that you can make meetings inclusive for different personality types. This will allow you to get everyone’s perspective and see how different people feel about what is being discussed. Your job as a leader is to guide the discussion without trying to influence your employees’ opinions. Remember to set an agenda beforehand so that they know when they will be asked to share their feedback.
Set Ground Rules
Although you wouldn’t want employees to feel intimidated at any point, it’s still recommended to set a few ground rules to help you boost productivity. For example, you may want to ask employees to turn off their personal phones to minimise distractions. You can also ban other technology that might distract employees from the focus of the meeting. It’s also important to clarify when it’s okay to interrupt and ask questions, if you are planning on giving a presentation.
Come Up With Follow-Up Actions
Lastly, don’t forget to end on a positive note and try to think of a few follow-up actions that everyone can get on board with. Then, you can send a meeting recap with all the key details that your employees may need to review again. This will ensure that employees know what their next steps will be and they can prepare for the next meeting more effectively. Also, it will reinforce the importance of the main issues that were discussed during the meeting. It will also help you end up with an action plan, that will determine individual responsibilities and deadlines that need to be taken into consideration.