The secret to running effective meetings is understanding potential inefficiencies and targeting them before they get out of hand. With the simple changes we've proposed, help ensure that your next meeting makes effective use of time for everyone involved.
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6. Submit your "materials" review ahead of time.
Now that you have an agenda set and you've invited the right people, be sure to send the necessary review materials in advance. This relates to attendees knowing what is expected of them, so they are prepared and ready to provide information and take action.
7. Appoint a moderator.
Make sure someone is the moderator to start and end the meeting on time and direct the discussion back to the agenda if it strays. It is useful to assign someone other than the moderator as the minute or note taker. In this way, the moderator can focus on keeping the discussion moving and the note taker can focus on capturing key details.
8. It begins in time and ends in time.
If you are the meeting organizer, make sure you start on time, no matter who is late. This will help you stick to the schedule set for the agenda and respect the time of the other people attending the meeting.
9. Capture key points during the meeting.
Make sure someone focuses on capturing key points throughout the meeting. By appointing someone other than the moderator, the note taker can focus on what is being discussed and identify action items for follow up, who is responsible for each and when. The last 5 minutes of each meeting should be saved to recap these next steps.
10. Send a follow up email with action items after the meeting.
After the meeting is over, the moderator should review the notes taken and summarize the key points decided and the next steps that will be sent to the group. Send the follow up email, including action items and then make sure to start the next meeting with action items from the previous meeting.
While these tips will help you improve the efficiency of your business meetings, having a more collaborative and automated way to manage the process will reduce the time you spend coordinating all the details.
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