How to Have a Productive Meeting

Meetings are the life blood of any company.  They get everyone on the same page and make sure that everyone has a set goal in mind for forwarding the goals of the company and the employees.  Meeting need to keep the attention of everyone involved.  No one wants a sitcom meeting where everyone is just playing paper football instead of focusing on the task at hand.  We’re going to help keep those meetings great with our patented insight and wisdom.  Chime in and take notes.

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1.  Focus

The meeting itself should be focused.  Thee’s no point in hosting a meeting that wastes everyone’s time.  Before ordering a meeting, make sure you know exactly what you’re going to meet about.  Have a short list of goals and know what you have to say.  Leave enough room for discussion so that it’s a meeting and not a lecture. If you laser your metting down to a few points, you’re far more likely to hold on to everyone’s attention.  More attention means better discussion.

2.  Time Travel

This is associated with focus.  When setting a meeting, keep it a reasonable length.  There’s no reason for a meeting the length of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  You can say all you need to say in a short time, and use a little extra for elaboration.  If anyone has questions, they can always come forward after the meeting.  Time really is money, so don’t spend more of it than you need to.  The sooner everyone can channel the momentum of the meeting, the better for everyone.

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3.  Notation

If you are attending the meeting, make sure to take thorough notes.  They don’t have to be sprawling or epic or all encompassing, but they should make enough sense out of context that you can refer back to them without puzzling yourself.  In addition, it scores great brownie points when you’re  able to summon up intimate knowledge of the meetings in front of the bosses.  Taking these notes will help you better commit the nature of the meeting to memory.

4.  Engagement

An open channel between workers and bosses is what makes a great meeting instead of a routine one.  The meeting is about sharing the vision for the company, and the workers on both sides need to acknowledge this.  So, don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Bosses should ask direct, leading questions that challenge their employees to answer.  Employees need to ask clarification and directional questions, so that the bosses must back up what they want.  Everyone wins this way.