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How to Get the Most Out of Your Meetings

Author: Amitava Sarkar
by Amitava Sarkar
Posted: Aug 18, 2015

How do your colleagues or employees react when you announce there's a meeting? Chances are, it's probably not with huge grins, fist pumps and expressions of thrilled anticipation. Most likely, you're greeted with polite nods or maybe even a quick smile but as soon as you pass, there's probably head shaking and the thought, "Here goes another waste of an hour... if we're lucky." The good news is, your business meetings and events don't have to be the massive time suck corporate America has come to dread. You can absolutely avoid the energy-sapping, mind-numbing, unproductive affairs many a comic strip has been written about. So instead of going over the intricacies of properly written TPS reports for the dozenth time, try rethinking meetings altogether. There are several simple yet effective ways to make meetings well worth the investment of time and energy. Employing the right strategies, you can not only get much more out of your meetings but you can also actually get people to look forward to attending. If this sounds too good to be true, rest assured it's not. Read on to discover tips and tricks for getting the most out of your meetings.

  • Set concrete goals. This may seem like a no-brainer but figuring out what you want to accomplish before the meeting starts is extremely important. Write down a list of meeting goals and then make sure all the attendees have a copy beforehand. That will make it a lot easier to get everything done and get the answers you're looking for during the meeting.
  • Have a plan. The next step is to decide how you're going to communicate your goals during the meeting. If you're going to explain new concepts, try to steer clear of jargon that might throw attendees off. Be patient and prepared to answer any questions.
  • Send out a summary. Rumors about an upcoming meeting can spread like wildfire. Write up a one page summary of the points you're going to cover and disseminate it before the meeting. This will squelch rumors and let everyone know what to expect.
  • Don't digress. The more people there are at a meeting, the easier it can be to get off topic and onto a tangent. If this starts to happen, politely ease the conversation back to the topic at hand. You can help avoid this type of digression by asking the right questions in the first place. Make a list of questions you plan to ask. If someone digresses or gives you the runaround, be sure to ask for clarification.
  • Set boundaries. It's easy to let one or two peoplMeetingMetricse dominate the meeting. Unfortunately, that means everyone else will just be sitting there. Encourage participation by fostering a friendly atmosphere in which everyone is comfortable expressing themselves, not just one or two people. Another important boundary to keep in mind is time. Create and stick to time limits on getting the meeting's objectives accomplished. This keeps things moving along and everyone on the same page.
  • Don't run off immediately. Schedule some time at the end of the meeting for any questions or loose ends. Chances are something will need additional discussion so budget time accordingly.
  • Bring in the experts. Enlisting the help of experts such as those at
MeetingMetrics can help you gather hard statistics and meeting results that will shed light on how effective your meetings actually are. This information can help drastically improve results and make meetings exponentially more productive.

About the Author : David M. Shaw is a business communications expert and contributing writer who hates to waste time in meetings and loves helping professionals make meetings worthwhile.

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Author: Amitava Sarkar

Amitava Sarkar

Member since: Nov 27, 2014
Published articles: 349

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