5 Steps to Manage Effective Meetings

So you’ve held a lot of meetings in your career and haven’t gotten any complaints yet? It’s still a worthy idea to explore our check list and make sure you’re doing everything you can to hold valuable, engaging meetings that don’t waste too much time.

1. Make It Matter

This may seem like an obvious one but we’ve all sat through those meetings where we wondered why we were there in the first place. Asking employees and colleagues away from their desk for any extended amount of time should be done with purpose, so make sure you have an agenda, a goal and only invite the necessary team members. If your meeting topic can be handled easily in an email, opt for that instead.

2. What Was That Part About an Agenda?

Before the meeting even begins, when it’s just an idea and a blip on your calendar, you should be compiling information and ideas. Outline your topics and define your goals and then distribute that to the team prior to the meeting so they can prepare anything they might want to add or ask. If everyone goes into the meeting on the same page, imagine how much more could be gained and time could be saved.

3. Ask For Input

Meetings shouldn’t consistently be lectures where you stand up and blurt out information and everyone else listens. Everyone gets more out of the conference if you allow for collaboration and sharing. If you’re presenting an idea about a certain task or department, ask those who already do that task or work in that department what their input is.

4. … But Keep in Charge

It’s great if you hold the types of meetings where people can just speak up when they have something to add, but sometimes this can prove problematic. If an argument erupts or someone starts to take over the meeting to prove their own point, you’ll want to step in and take back the reigns. Efficient conversation is good, a hostile takeover is not.

5. End it with Action

Before everyone leaves the room, ensure you’ve been clear about the next steps. What are the actionable items that need to be executed to accomplish the goals you discussed during the meeting? Who will be in charge of which action items? What’s the time frame for completion? Who will they report to in the process? Be clear about these expectations and be sure to follow up, otherwise your meeting was just hot air.

So in just 5 easy steps, you can take your meetings from inefficient and one-sided to productive, team-building sessions.

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