How to make meetings effective and useful: 6 ways to get actually get stuff done
These techniques will help you stop wasting time on pointless meetings and start having productive discussions that lead to effective decisions.
Whether you work from home or the office, meetings dominate modern professional life - and sometimes it feels as if these encounters never end and make no sense at all.
But that doesn't have to be the case. Business leaders share their best practice techniques to create important meetings.
1. Set a goal
Li Kui, director of technology at Merlin Entertainment, says anyone calling a meeting should be clear about why it is happening and what it is for.
"Think about what you will achieve from this meeting – what is your goal, be specific and focus on the purpose of the meeting and the expected result. I think if you have that line of sight, it becomes much easier to keep the meeting on track and focused," he said.
This is a sentiment that resonates with Emma Frost, director of innovation at the London Legacy Development Foundation, who tells her people not to book a meeting unless they know exactly what they need to get out of it.
"Even if the person at the other end has to spend five minutes thinking things through before clicking 'accept', it should be the right reason to get together. So, be sure to write an invitation at the meeting what you need to get out of this meeting," she says.
2. Keep the numbers tight
Once you agree that a meeting is needed, be careful to make sure that the right people are sitting around the table.
We've all been in meetings where there are simply too many people who don't need to be there. One or two people control the chat and others leave wishing they could use their time more productively.
Mark Bramwell, head of information at the business school, says many people fail to keep the numbers tight. If you don't get the best people at the table, you're unlikely to make the right decisions for the business.
"I find that there is an awful tendency to increase the number of meetings," he says. "People say," we'll just invite X and we'll only invite y because they need to be there. And many times, many of these people do not need to be there. I think the key to success is often about making sure you always have the right audience with the right decision-makers."
3. Ground preparation
Christian Muller, director of digital marketing at Midea, says Successful Meetings are about strong foundations.
"No one wants a meeting to prepare for the meeting," she says. "So, when I send an invitation, I always send an agenda. Tell who is responsible for certain topics and outline what we will talk about. I also outline what I expect people to bring to the meeting."
Koi Merlin also believes effective preparations are crucial. Think carefully about why the meeting is there and do not invite a meeting for something that can be dealt with through other channels.
"You see meetings ending in your diary that you can only do with a five-minute phone call," he says. "You don't need to bring 10 people together to achieve what two people can do with a five-minute phone call. Make a decision and move on."
4. Be ready to go off the piste
Goals and objectives are crucial for successful meetings, but sometimes the primary goal of a meeting is to catch up – and Coy says this is acceptable.
"I have a meeting with my team and my live reports every Monday," he says. "I don't have a fixed agenda. It's just a point of contact to say, Hi, How was the weekend? These types of meetings are all about engagement. They're about making sure everyone is healthy and OK. In those cases, you can let them wander a little."
Matthew Lawson, a chief digital officer at Ripple courses, says most of his team is still quite far away. Informal chats that bring the team together help ensure that each meeting is not transactional, as people focus only on goals and agree to achieve specific results.
"We talk about interesting things," says Lawson. "I talk about business issues, so I increase that circle of trust in the team. We also talk about who was great this week; we all nominated someone and talk about our reasons. It's all about engagement and it feels more like a live stream or YouTube video than a traditional meeting."
5. Keep time
Professionals around the world have spent most of the last two years in back-to-back video conferencing meetings. One thing everyone has learned through this process, says Ian rabigliati, product and experience manager at eurotanil, is the importance of breathing space.
"Having an agenda and trying to keep it for 25 or 55 minutes is something I defend,"he says. "Five minutes of space at the end of a meeting forces people to stop and think about whether we've covered everything so you don't just spend five hours sitting in a row without leaving your seat. I think short meetings-and being prepared to cut them off if you don't go anywhere-are important."
Emma Frost of leedke takes a similar approach: always leave time between meetings and aim to be more concise if you can.
"I did not book a meeting for a full hour. I always book in for 45 minutes and wait for someone to try and change it, " she says. "And then – if it should be longer-it becomes 55 minutes. But ideally, it starts at 45 minutes and then becomes 55 minutes if it has to. Now, this approach doesn't always work, but it's a good starting premise."
6. Coming to a conclusion
The big thing to avoid is a meeting that becomes like a "modern shop," says Bramwell of the Business School of SA USD. Noting your goals regularly will help you stay on track
"We need a clear idea of the goal and whether we will make a decision. And if we're going to make a decision, we make it at the meeting. I think they guide the bars for any good meeting, " he says.
Midea's Muller says sticking to the agenda is crucial if you want to reach a proper outcome. She also summarizes the chat and uses follow-up points to ensure the next meeting stays on track, too.
"By the end of the meeting, do a quick review on the topics you've been through and what everyone in the meeting should do next. Then, you have conclusions. I note the following stations and say that the next meeting will be on the same agenda, but with updates, we agreed at this meeting".
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