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Meetings are part and parcel of projects in a workplace. These are help to improve the productivity and efficiency.
Moreover, these meetings also provide a common platform where the entire team is educated about the progress.
An employee’s time is very valuable and therefore having multiple meetings will only lead to time wastage and reduced productivity.
Thus, the meeting should be to-the-point so that the discussions, action tracking, status updates, etc. can be done efficiently.
In this blogpost we have tried to showcase some tools and insights for organizing the meetings in an efficient manner.
Meeting Objective
Before you book a meeting slot on your team’s calendar, spend some time in deciding the topic that you want to discuss.
If you are unsure about the topic, then you won’t be able to achieve a positive outcome in the meeting.
Think through some basic questions like is the meeting to take status updates or to conduct a brainstorming session or to make decisions.
If you have clarity of thought, then the meeting will be productive and help you in getting the required output.
Participants
Once you have a clear idea related to meeting proceedings, then create a participant list.
If you are planning for a brainstorming session, then you might need more participants.
For status updates or kick-off meetings you might just need one representative from different teams or projects.
Having around 10 members in a meeting should be optimal to reduce distractions, side talks, and interruptions that distract the discussion.
It is also advised to conduct fewer meetings instead of holding one overcrowded meeting.
Be Prepared
A meeting can be successfully executed if you have prepared well for it.
Share the agenda and any other background information with the participants beforehand.
This will give them enough time to prepare for the meetings.
Since everyone else will also be prepared for the meeting, the discussion will be productive.
Without a proper agenda, more time will be wasted in side conversations, discussions, and interruptions.
So, to keep everyone organized, agendas are critical for meetings.
Be Punctual
Everyone’s time is valuable and thus delaying the meeting won’t be considerate and professional.
Arriving late for the meeting can be very annoying and can disrupt an ongoing conversation.
Starting the meeting late will also extend the meeting time.
Moreover, waiting for late-arriving folks is unfair to those who are on time always.
You shouldn’t wait for people arriving late and start the meeting on time.
Time the discussions as well and force stop them if you feel the discussion is going off-track.
It is good to start and end the meeting on time.
Don’t Forget The Remote Attendees
During a meeting, you might have attendance from different sites or people working from home.
According to State of Remote Work Report, 13 percent of remote workers attend more than 10 meetings per week.
These attendees might feel left out in the discussion as they aren’t physically present in the conference room.
Thus, you can set-up more video conferences or telepresence meetings.
Devices like the Meeting Owl can be used to enhance the audio and video quality of the meetings.
If you’re confused, read the meeting OWL review here.
The autofocus capability of this device focuses the camera on the speaker automatically. Thus, everyone will feel included in the meeting.
Take Meeting Notes and Define Actions
Keep track of the discussion happening in the meeting room.
Take notes simultaneously as the discussions progress so that you don’t miss any actions.
Ensure that all the points in the agenda are discussed and actions are being noted as well.
Once the discussion has completed, assign actions to relevant participants, so that you already have an agenda for your next meeting.
Moreover, this will help you in distributing the work and keeping track of its progress.
Never Multitask
Performing other tasks like typing, responding to emails, mobile usage, etc. during the meeting is annoying and distracts the participants.
The focus is lost and you might miss some important discussion points.
Disable email alerts and put your mobile on silent mode while attending meetings.
Leave Time For Q&A
Try to finish the meeting agenda at least 5 to 10 minutes before the ending time.
Save this time for discussions and final thoughts on the actions.
Having such sessions showcases the openness with which the meetings are run.
The Q&A session can also be held in between agenda topics if it suits the meeting.
Following the above suggestions will help you in getting work done with your team.
Do share your tricks for executing an efficient meeting in the comment section below.
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