7 steps for efficient meetings
Length:
4 min
Published:
July 29, 2021
Have you ever sat through a dull, draining meeting? We bet you have. Endless sessions about nothing, where your presence barely matters, are one of the flaws of modern work. That time can almost always be spent better. Developers, for one, want to build, not burn hours in pointless discussions. From my own experience, a few simple tricks make a real difference and send people out of a meeting feeling their time was well spent.
It does not matter whether you are a small shop or a large enterprise. Long, ineffective meetings are a pain for everyone. And it takes only a few simple rules to get the result you want, with people who actually enjoy being there.
Seven steps to better meetings
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Ask whether you need a meeting at all. Sometimes a quick call or a short chat with the people involved settles it.
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Ask people to come prepared. Avoid last-minute meetings whenever you can.
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Pick a moderator before you start. Besides keeping time, they should gracefully cut off any off-topic detour and keep people from drifting.
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Give every session one clear goal everyone understands. People should also know the purpose and the agenda. Only then is the meeting productive and worth having.
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Invite only the people who really need to be there. That keeps you out of long debates that go nowhere.
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Focus is what makes a meeting efficient. Put phones and laptops away unless someone needs them or is waiting on an important call.
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Make the meeting a safe place for everyone involved. Anyone who wants to discuss the topic and find the best solution should feel free to speak. Do not let only the loudest voices fill the room. Make sure the quieter people get heard too, because they have plenty to say.
Making it work
These steps help you run business meetings efficiently and keep them as short as they need to be. Do not get stuck in the details either. Those can be sorted out with the relevant people afterward. Stay on the main topics and get to the bottom of them.
Followed all of this and it still does not click? Try changing the direction, the time, or the setting. Small things matter, like a meeting room with windows or some fresh air. So does timing. Skip early mornings, since not everyone is in the office by eight. Skip the slot right after lunch, when the body is busy digesting. And skip late afternoons, when people are already mentally on their way home.
Further reading
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