Powerful Meetings

Every day approximately 12 million meetings are held in the United States. In addition, it’s been estimated that managers spend about 30% of their time in meetings. What’s even more distressing is that 75% of managers say that they are bothered by the ineffectiveness of the meetings they attend. What most busy business professionals may not realize is that by following some simple steps, they can improve the quality and effectiveness of every meeting they attend. Here are some of simple guidelines for more powerful meetings.

• Never schedule a meeting just because it’s always been done. Make sure that you know why everyone is coming together. Ask if there’s a better form of communication (e-mail, telephone, etc.) that would satisfy what you want to accomplish.
• Develop ground rules. Make sure that you 1) start and end meetings on time, 2) follow an agenda, and 3) limit the length of time one person can talk.
• Use meeting tools such as an announcement, agenda, minutes, and follow-up action e-mail or calls.
• Involve everyone by asking for input and using facilitation questions and comments. The more employees buy-in to a meeting, the more effective the outcome will be.
• Always evaluate a meeting. Use formal or informal methods to determine what went well and what could have been improved.

For more strategies and tips on business communication, review our Online Courses and On-Site Training or send Judith an Inquiry E-Mail.