Before, During, and After Effective Work Meetings
Effective meetings
Things to Keep in Mind to Ensure Productive Work Meetings
It is often thought that work meetings are a waste of time, that they are useless, boring, and unproductive. Essentially, this is because sometimes we don't know how to make work meetings highly effective.
Work meetings have a bad reputation.
And if I think about the many hours I have spent in meetings throughout my professional life, I must admit that this is often absolutely true.
However, I believe this might be one of those cases where we blame the messenger because we don't like the message.
While it's not easy to acknowledge our faults, many times we don't like meetings simply because we don't know how to conduct them properly.
A Necessary Evil
It's true that many meetings are unnecessary. Especially nowadays, when we have a wide variety of remote communication methods. We can communicate via email, text messages, teleconferences, and phone calls. In many instances, the time spent in unproductive meetings would have been greatly reduced if, instead of an in-person meeting, we had opted for one of these alternatives.
However, it's also true that a 15-minute in-person conversation can save many virtual exchanges that sometimes lead to misunderstandings or delay decisions.
Meetings are not inherently bad or inefficient. It's how we use and conduct meetings that can make them inefficient. But they can also save misunderstandings and time spent on useless exchanges.
Given that the reality is, one way or another, you will always have some meetings with clients, suppliers, collaborators, and colleagues, in this article, I want to share some suggestions with you to make your meetings events that support your productivity and decision-making and have a positive impact on your business.
On the other hand, you should keep in mind that there are various types of meetings. There are informational meetings, consultation meetings, and decision-making meetings. In each case, both the objectives for calling the meeting and the type of outcome expected—whether it's a decision, an agreement, a proposal, or a recommendation—are different and must be very clear.
How to Make Your Work Meetings Effective
First of all, you should consider that a work meeting should only be held if:
The matter to be addressed cannot be handled virtually and truly requires the physical presence of the participants sharing space and time.
A decision, recommendation, or agreement involves multiple people.
Another form of communication would take more time.
So, before calling your next meeting, evaluate it based on the three criteria above. If you decide that it is indeed necessary to call the meeting, then follow the recommendations below to ensure its success.
Let's talk, then, about the three stages of effective work meetings and define the critical elements to evaluate and consider Before, During, and After a meeting to ensure it is a productivity tool and not a waste of time.
Before the Meetings
Define the Objective of the Meeting. This not only involves knowing what will be discussed but also being clear about what decisions or agreements need to be reached during the meeting.
Define the Participants. This aspect is crucial. Never invite someone to a meeting just to observe. Each participant should have a clear role and a reason to be there. For a truly efficient discussion, it is recommended not to invite more than eight people. Of course, this is just a guideline, but the main idea is to minimize the number of participants. Don’t duplicate roles or invite “listeners.”
Define the Location, Start Time, and End Time. In a meeting, participants share time and space. When scheduling a meeting, ensure that everyone knows where it will be held and how much of their daily agenda it will take.
Define the Agenda and Share it with Participants. The more people know what will be discussed and decided in the meeting, the better prepared they will be, making the discussion and decisions more efficient and quicker.
Prepare. Never go to a meeting unprepared. Be clear about what you will say and the roles that will be assigned. If you need supporting materials, ensure they are available.
During the Meetings
Demand (and Provide) Punctuality. The first rule of calling a meeting is to be on time. The second rule is to start on time out of respect for the participants. This applies not only to the start time but also to the expected duration and end time. Keep in mind that all participants, including yourself, have other commitments and have only reserved the meeting time to achieve the proposed objectives.
Make a Brief “Opening” of the Meeting. Here, you welcome everyone, introduce participants if needed, review the agenda (which should already be known because it was shared in advance), and remind everyone of the objective and the decisions to be made during the meeting.
Moderate the Meeting According to the Agenda. Ensure that everyone who needs to participate has the opportunity to do so within the available time and that all planned points are covered.
Facilitate Participation. Ensure there is a mechanism for those who wish to intervene, ask questions, or comment. Promote “active listening,” where each participant makes an effort to pay dedicated attention to the speakers, avoiding interruptions, judgments, and disqualifications that can disrupt communication.
Avoid Distractions. While off-topic subjects may arise and can sometimes help maintain a good atmosphere, make an effort to always return the discussion to the central topics without letting external issues take up valuable meeting time. A good option is to have an “idea bank” where off-topic subjects or ideas can be noted for future meetings. This ensures they are not forgotten, respecting the interest of those who brought them up, while not deviating from the current meeting's objective.
Make a “Closing” of the Meeting. Ensure that the objectives were met. Define agreements, decisions, and commitments according to the objectives. These should preferably be tied to timelines and responsible individuals.
After the Meetings
Summarize and Share the Commitments and Decisions with Those Involved, Whether They Participated or Not. Not all meetings require the formality of official minutes, but a simple email summarizing the discussed points and agreements, establishing responsibilities, is important. The sooner you do this, the better. A summary delivered two weeks later is pointless as agreements and dates may have already changed or passed. Try to send it as soon as possible after the meeting ends.
Follow Up on the Fulfillment of Decisions, Tasks, and Commitments. It’s not enough to assign responsibilities or reach agreements. To ensure the meeting fully achieved its objective, follow up to make sure the expected results were achieved.
All meetings have an economic impact on the participating organizations. The time spent by attendees is time that could be dedicated to other productive tasks. Always consider the cost of each meeting you call. Effective work meetings will provide an overall advantage to your business.
And remember, try to achieve objectives in the shortest time possible.
This way, meetings will lose their bad reputation and be seen as useful tools for communication and decision-making.
These points, although they may seem very formal, can be easily applied even in meetings with only you and another person. No matter how small the audience, all the mentioned points are equally valid.