How to Keep Your Meeting Productive
Meetings are part and parcel of the business world and, no matter how much our office culture may be changing, meetings are an integral part of our workplace. However, there is no denying that a well planned and carefully executed meeting can be extremely productive and beneficial.
Meetings can help us collaborate, innovate, save time, generate better ideas and even save money. In fact with the use of whiteboards, you could even plan the points you want to adhere to while conducting a meeting to help you maintain focus. However, it is also very easy to hold an unproductive meeting. Read about the following scenarios that could be killing your meeting and learn how the right planning can get your meetings back on track.
The unnecessary attendees scenario
Have you ever attended a meeting where you looked around and wondered why some people who weren’t concerned with the subject were attending the meeting? The main requirement of a productive conference is to invite the right people to your meeting. With too many people in the meeting room, you can risk crowding the conversation. You can buy a notice board online to display the names of attendees you expect to attend the meeting.
The "when will this meeting end?" scenario
Presentations help you get your point of view or expectations across. However, long presentations can cause your attendees to mentally check out. Instead of always making use of presentations to convey your message, you can make use of mobile whiteboards to present your important points. This will help to keep the meeting short, effective and to the point. By doing this, you can also leave some space in your meeting for questions, answers, discussions and actions. This way you wouldn’t have to wait until your final Q & A slide to solicit feedback. Keeping your meeting interactive also ensures that all your team members are paying attention during the meeting.
The countless meetings scenario
Anything done habitually can eventually become mind-numbingly boring. Meetings that have been set to repeat every week on your calendar can become annoying and boring. Companies need to make sure they remind people of the purpose by setting out an agenda in advance of every meeting. This will help employees to prepare for the meeting without wasting time preparing instead of focusing on what needs to be accomplished that day. Even integrating small changes in the way you conduct meetings can help attendees to be alert and engaged.
The let’s revisit this discussion meeting
One of the best features of a productive meeting is an actionable conclusion. If your meeting is frequently using phrases such "we will discuss this later" or "I’ll get back to you on that tomorrow" it can be difficult to see what was actually accomplished. Instead consider using the parking lot system, where you note down such points on your glass writing boards and ensure that you revisit them immediately.
Keep in mind that although meetings are essential to any workplace, traditional meetings might not be working for your business and certain scenarios might be killing your meeting productivity. Hence, make sure to keep your meeting short, concise and conduct it only when absolutely necessary.
