Why Are We Having This Meeting? June 15, 2010

Strategies for Effective Meetings

1. Plan the Meeting Objectives. If you are leading the meeting, you must know why you are calling it. Clearly write down 10 to 30 words about the purpose and objective of the meeting prior to completing your agenda. Preparing this at least an hour or so before sending the meeting invitation is helpful because you can set it aside and revisit it before you actually send the invitation. By reviewing the information, you perform a "gut check" to determine whether everything still seems necessary and relevant.

Along with the invitation, you should craft an agenda that provides a framework for the meeting length necessary to accomplish the objective. If you hold a regular weekly meeting, then a standard meeting format is also useful.

2. Invite the Right Participants. Invite only those team members who really need to attend to contribute, carry out action plans or make decisions. Including superfluous attendees may slow progress, or they may resent being invited to a meeting that they don't really need to attend.

3. Notify Invitees if They Need to Prepare. Meeting leaders and facilitators should ensure that that participants are informed about any advance preparation required of them or anything they need to bring to the meeting, e.g., reports, records, etc.

4. Start and End on Time. Always respect attendees' time commitments, especially those who are coming from previous meetings or who need to move on to the next meeting. End your meeting a few minutes early, if possible.

5. Preserve Order and Focus. Your organization should have established standard meeting practices or ground rules for meetings, as well as expectations to be followed. Always designate someone to be responsible for taking accurate notes and reviewing minutes with the meeting leader before sending them to meeting participants. Creating a standard format for meeting notes will also prove helpful.
Although conflicts and heated discussions sometimes occur, good leaders keep meeting participants focused on the agenda, give everyone a chance to be heard and redirect topics that need further discussion as action items to be resolved during a separate meeting.

6. Assign Tasks and Obtain Participant Agreement. As soon as consensus is reached on a subject, assign an action item to the person(s) who will be responsible and accountable for it, and be sure to set a deadline for the action item. Then, obtain participants' agreement that they understand and accept what is required of them.
Be aware of nonverbal cues given by participants during consensus, assignments and agreements. Probe and clarify directions so that participants understand what is expected of them and commit to the task. Recap during the last few minutes of the meeting and verify that everyone has the same understanding.

7. Follow up and Check Action-Item Status. Leaders should follow up with participants after the meeting minutes are sent in order to help smooth out any misunderstandings that may have occurred during the meeting. Status checks ensure that action items are on track, questions are answered, unanticipated roadblocks are discovered and better decisions can be made.

8. Keep on Track. Good leaders recognize issues or problems early on, and they attempt to correct such situations, e.g., participant conflict, task completion breakdown, lack of collaboration, etc. Failure to stay on course impedes progress, costs money, and affects delivery and quality.

Attendees and team members often perceive poorly run meetings as a waste of time. Meetings do have a place, and conducting a productive meeting requires that you invite the right people to the right place at the right time to collaborate, make decisions, and set the course for action items and project fulfillment.

For more in-depth discussion about these eight tips for successful meetings, register for Vital Learning's Webinar on July 20, 2010: 8 Key Strategies to Effective Meetings.