Meetings can be scary, nerve-wracking and stressful. Running a meeting can feel like walking through a field of land mines – one false move and the whole thing blows up in your face. Running meetings is so nerve-racking that sometimes it feels easier not to attend in the first place. Keeping things simple, keeping everything productive, getting everyone on board with an idea – these are some of the challenges that you face when it comes to running meetings. Meetings run well require a lot of attention, planning, preparation and execution. No wonder so many of us avoid them at all costs! But there’s no reason why you should shy away from meetings either. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be running meetings like a pro in no time! Here are 10 tips to help you run more successful meetings
Don’t Over-Invite
As a general rule, you should invite the people who you think might actually be able to make the time available to attend. Why? Because if the person you invited does not have the window in their schedule to attend the meeting, you’re wasting their time and potentially frustrating them. It feels unprofessional and unhelpful to invite people who can’t attend. So invite only those who you know will be able to attend. If someone invites you to a meeting but you know they have no idea why you’re being invited to that meeting, politely decline. It’s one thing to invite someone to a meeting and have them invite you; it’s another thing entirely if they invite you to a meeting without knowing what you have to do there.
When NOT to Have a Meeting
There are certain occasions when it’s best not to have a meeting. If you’re already in the middle of a project and you want to get everyone’s opinion on a new feature or design, you don’t need a meeting. Send an email and get everyone’s thoughts on the subject. There are also occasions when it’s better to hold an informal “get together” rather than hold a formal meeting. What’s the difference? An informal meeting is just that: people get together in a room and talk. A formal meeting is planned in advance and is structured with a formal agenda, usually broken down into a series of topics.
Make sure everyone is on the same page
If you have to change any details or plans while in the middle of a meeting, make sure that everyone is on the same page. This is especially key if you’re trying to coordinate a number of people to accomplish something, or if you have to change the agenda of a meeting. If the agenda of a meeting gets changed at the last minute, make sure that everyone who was invited knows why the agenda was changed and what they need to discuss. If you have to cancel a meeting, make sure that everyone is aware of the reason. If you have to reschedule a meeting, make sure you let everyone know.
Be honest with yourself and your team
When you’re trying to run a meeting, it helps to be honest with yourself and your team about what steps are going to be needed in order for the meeting to go smoothly. Keep a “meeting diary” or note-taking app on your phone so that you can quickly jot down any notes that you need to make about what people want to discuss and what needs to be done for the meeting to be a success. Be honest with yourself about how much time your team has available to dedicate to the meeting, what they’re currently working on, and what they’re currently bogged down in.
Don’t skip the agenda
The whole idea behind having an agenda is to have a rigid outline of what should be discussed during the meeting. If you have to skip over a topic, do it. Don’t skip over the agenda. You can always come back to a topic or issue at a different time and in a different setting. If you need to skip over a topic or issue, just make sure you give people a clear agenda for the rest of the meeting. Do not try to cover too much material in one meeting – people will get overwhelmed and frustrated very quickly.
Use a meeting timer to keep track of time
There’s nothing worse than being in a meeting where people are droning on and on about the same thing, wasting time. Have everyone write down what they want to discuss on a piece of paper or a whiteboard? Don’t let them take the paper/board out of the room. If they try to start discussing something else, make everyone raise their hand and say “I want to discuss that.” If you have more than one topic, make sure to put them in a relevant order. While you’re keeping track of the time, make sure that you’re also checking your email and answering any other messages that come in. This way, you’re not distracted from the meeting.
Make sure you get feedback after the meeting
If you don’t get feedback from your team after the meeting, you’re probably going to be in for a rude awakening. You might be in the meeting, having a great time, and chatting away happily with your team, but in reality, they’re off doing something else. They’re thinking about the meeting they just had, but they’re not putting the time and thought into it that they need to do so that they can make any real progress. If you don’t get any feedback after the meeting, check with your team and see what they need help with – you don’t want to be the one holding everyone up.
Review after every meeting
After every meeting, make sure to write down what was discussed. This will help you to keep track of what’s going on and what needs to be done. This will also help you to see who’s contributing the most during the meeting. If you want to be a more effective meetings leader, you’re going to have to learn to delegate. In order to delegate effectively, you’re going to have to learn how to manage people and expectations. Negativity and stress are the first signs of ineffective leadership. If you want to run meetings that don’t suck, you’re going to have to learn how to manage people, expectations, and stress.
Conclusion
Running meetings can be challenging. With the right mindset and techniques, they can be successful. Skillful leaders know how to navigate through meetings with ease, while leaders who are lackadaisical or stiff with others are the ones who struggle to do so. A successful meetings leader knows how to encourage teamwork, facilitate creative problem-solving, and manage expectations. These skills are essential for effective leadership. Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be running more successful meetings in no time.