You know the signs — the team you’ve called into the room is distracted, staring blankly at you or down at your phones. When you ask if anyone has questions, no one responds except the one or two people who have completely dominated the conversation.
Meetings don’t have to be this way, even though they often are. Research from Comparably shows that nearly 40% of people say their company’s meetings are “average” while another 24% say their company’s meetings are “poor” or “horrible.”
Here’s a look at what you can do to make sure your meetings don’t fall into any of these categories.
1. Be clear about the purpose. If you’re going to bring your team together, be clear about the reason. Your meeting has one of three purposes: (1) to solve a problem; (2) to communicate information; (3) to brainstorm. Even if it seems obvious, write your intent on the board in front of you so everyone knows the purpose of the meeting. Spend zero time on items you know you won’t take action on; spend your time having a discussion about action items and new ideas instead.
2. Set an example by putting your phone away. Unless you need your iPhone to demonstrate something during the meeting, put it away and encourage others to do the same. Meetings are often dragged out by people not paying attention. Cut the distractions.
3. Bring the energy. Start your meeting with a fun, brief group exercise or have an agile meeting where participants stand. You want everyone in the room to be engaged. Providing snacks can also be a nice touch.
4. Be brief. Many people set their meetings for either 30 minutes or an hour since that’s the way their calendars log them. Keep yours as brief as possible: turn hour-long meetings into half-hour ones, and 30-minute meetings into 15-minute meetings. You can add extra time in later, but it’s likely you won’t have to. Purpose factors in greatly here: If the purpose of your meeting is to brainstorm, make sure to allot more time than if your purpose is to communicate information.
5. Invite the right people. One of the biggest complaints from people in meetings is that they often feel they don’t have to be there. When organizing a meeting, ask yourself: Do I really need the whole team in the room for this meeting? Who are the most critical players here? By having only relevant participants, you have a greater chance of achieving your goal.
6. Remember that meetings are magnifiers. Any praise you give will be amplified, as will any criticism. Generally, you want to praise in group settings and deliver criticism in group settings. critiques for private sessions, and praise for group sessions.
7. Ask people what’s working. By doing a postmortem, you can make sure that your meeting participants are getting the most from these meetings. Ask people: What’s working/not working? Are the next steps clear? What are your suggestions for improvements?
Tell us: What are your tips for hosting better meetings?
