While brainstorming ideas or sharing stories of customers or deciding on business strategies, successful meetings aren’t something that just happens. Effective meetings require planning, time and effort to ensure everyone feels that they have gained something from the experience.
Understanding the purpose of the meeting is vital to preparing for it. What are the expectations of the group to achieve at the conclusion of this session? This is the “Why” behind the meeting, and it’s what drives decision-making discussion topics, discussion topics, as well as the outcomes. It is essential to stay with the same goal so that everyone can remain focused.
Asking clarifying questions before the meeting begins is a good idea. Ask questions to your team members so that they can prepare. If you wait until the meeting starts, you’re wasting time that could be better spent for other tasks.
A meeting agenda is an essential aspect of preparing. It is essential to ensure that it is easy to access, a collaborative process and visible to everyone. The agenda provides structure to the meeting and helps ensure that it stays on track.
It’s a good idea also to assign a person to be the timekeeper and note-keeper so that they can ensure the meeting ends and starts on time and that all agenda items are discussed in the correct order. It’s helpful to designate someone to distribute notes after the meeting, so that all important details are captured.