One more meeting oh no! What a waste of time! I don’t know what they achieve out of so many meetings. I am extremely busy with my daily routine work. But the boss has just called me for a meeting. And I don’t even know, what is the objective of this meeting? What is the agenda? The worst thing is, I don’t even know what I will do in this meeting?
Does the above scenario sound familiar to you? If yes, then I am sure this blog is very important for you.
Professional meetings are extremely expensive. In these meetings you use the precious time of your people which is the costliest resource in your business. Therefore, you must be very sensitive for its usage. Sometimes one meeting may cost you lakhs of rupees. Let me help you!
Follow these simple tips and you can make your meetings Super productive:
Define the objectives of meeting very clearly: Make sure that you are clear about the outcome of the meeting. The meetings can be held for different purposes, like sharing the information, resolving some problem, or reviewing the performance and many more. But before inviting the meeting ensure that you are very clear as to what outcome you expect from the meeting.
Define the meeting agenda very clearly: Have a very clear and specific agenda for your meeting. Ensure that each agenda items is mentioned with the timelines and responsibility. The agenda must be circulated among the participants at least 2 days in advance. Sometimes it can be even two months depending upon the objective and agenda of meeting.
The participants must come well prepared: All participants must find time to prepare for the meeting and reach on time to ensure that everybody’s time is effectively utilized. In case some participants are not able to attend the meeting, they can send their substitute who should participate with all relevant information.
Define roles and Participate actively during the meeting: In every meeting rolelike, Chairperson, Timekeeper and Scribe (to make notes and Minutes of meeting) must be allocated among the meeting participants well in advanced. Participants must take part in discussion actively. There is no point being part of a meeting and not speaking. Make sure that you participate by sharing your facts, opinion, and viewpoints.
Stick to agenda items and timings: The most precious resource in your organization is the time of your people. Make sure that agenda items and discussions are covered within the given time. Do not digress from the core issue. Observe the highest level of punctuality during the conduct of meeting. Make sure that you start and finish the meetings on time.
Capture the minutes of the meeting. Circulate the minutes of the meeting by the end of the day. Minutes of meeting must specify the action points with timelines and responsibility. Some team members must be assigned the responsibility to follow up for action completion with the respective participants.
