Meetings are part of life for many people, and some people hate them.
When you walk away not knowing what you were supposed to get out of it, or you were given a 40 page slideshow that lost your attention at slide 15, it feels like a waste of your time. Few people come prepared to participate and they aren’t as effective.
I came across some great statistics from an infographic by SalesCrunch.com, Don’t Suck at Meetings.
A few statistics stuck out:
- After 30 minutes, participation drops to 73 percent, and after 45 minutes, only 64 percent are paying attention
- Ninety-two percent of attendees participate when guests do most of the talking
- The longer the slide deck, the less likely it will be read
The headline of an article on Open Forum caught my attention: How to Hold Meetings that Nobody Hates. It provides simple advice that is easy to follow.
Know What is Being Discussed
Communicate the point of the meeting and the topic to be discussed prior to the meeting. Instead of providing a memo for everyone to read, provide an agenda so you don’t lose focus and stay on course. This gives your team a heads up so they can make notes and contribute to the discussion.
Think Short
Set a time limit to ensure you are getting through all the points of the agenda. Meetings should last about 30 minutes so set a start and finish time and stick to it.
Ask Questions, Encourage Ideas, and Give Recognition
Build questions and discussion points into the agenda if you want engagement. Even though you’re running the meeting, your voice is not the only voice that should be heard. Meetings are also a good place to recognize your team for a job well done. Recognizing them motivates them to keep meeting their goals and getting their tasks complete.
Include People Who Need to Attend
If the topics of your meeting don’t apply to your entire team, then don’t hold a mandatory meeting for everyone. Keep meetings productive with smaller groups of only the people affected.
Meetings should be useful for your team so take the time to plan and prepare. Use them to make decisions, generate discussion and feedback, get new ideas rolling, and set a course of action.
What tips would you provide to keep your meeting from being boring?
