Organizations spend so much time attending and sitting in meetings whether for reporting purposes, planning, meeting with suppliers, organizational meetings, brainstorming sessions, employee assessments… the list can go on and on.
Yes, most businesses think of every reason to set a meeting. And while many of these meetings are necessary for organizations to realign goals and give important updates, they may turn into productivity killers if not managed properly.
There is no question that meetings are necessary to hone communication skills in the workplace. Managers often delegate tasks and give useful updates during meetings. In many cases, everyone in the organization is swamped with too much work that getting together is a needed opportunity to get updated with the rest of the group. Effective meetings are a reflection of the organization’s good communication skills in the workplace.
However, a lot of meetings run the risk of getting out of hand. They can go for hours on end without a clear agenda and direction. When this happens, time is wasted and very little is achieved, people leave the meeting not knowing what their next steps are and wondering why the meeting was even called in the first place.
Here are 5 tips to help you have more effective meetings
- Before you set foot in a meeting, make sure to set a clear agenda. Your agenda will steer the entire meeting in the right direction. Be sure to send your agenda to everyone concerned.
- Remind each one to be ready with their reports, hand-outs, presentations, and all other materials they will use. This will help save time on having to prepare on the spot.
- Appoint someone to facilitate the meeting. Choose someone with effective communication skills in the workplace. This person will help control discussions and inject direction into the flow.
- Set a time frame for the meeting and stick to it. Keep every meeting short and straight to the point. Avoid unnecessary discussions and side meetings. Remind speakers to keep their presentations at a minimum so as not to eat up so much time.
- Have someone take the minutes of the meeting. Make sure each action point is clearly stated. Send the minutes to everyone concerned, so that they know what their commitments and next steps are. This document is critical in making sure the objectives of the meeting are achieved.
Business meetings are supposed to be a practice of communication skills in the workplace and not an opportunity to waste time. Remember time is money. The more time is wasted in disorganized meetings, the more money your business may risk losing.
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