Five Tips for More Productive Meetings

Posted on September 21, 2012 Updated on September 24, 2012

People spend a lot of time in meetings, whether it be at work or for activities outside of work. I read an article recently indicating many people feel HALF of their meeting time is unproductive! I was surprised by this so I checked the Internet and found two more articles that supported the numbers. No wonder people are frustrated with meetings! Planning an effective meeting doesnt come naturally to everyone. While I feel the people I work with do a good job, I have found the meetings I attend outside of work could use some improvement.

Here are five planning tips to help you plan a more productive meeting:

Prepare an agenda with the meeting objectives and send it out ahead of time. This gives people an opportunity to prepare. This should be the meeting leaders job but dont be afraid to suggest it even if you are not the meeting leader. You may even want to consider if a meeting is even necessary. An e-mail or some phones calls may be all that is needed.
Address details like the room setup, handouts, and any AV equipment needed in advance. Send people a reminder about the meeting dont give them an excuse to forget.
Start on time and end on time. People who show up on time should not have to wait for those who are late. I know one area that I need to improve on is always thinking I need to catch people up when they are late. The people who were on time dont want to hear everything repeated a second or third time. One way to encourage people to be on time is to have the last person take the notes. You can pass the note pad to the late comers and they can look over the notes already taken to catch up. Stick to the agenda and make sure things end on time.
Encourage everyone to share their ideas. There are reasons you invited each person and sometimes a few people dominate a meeting. Its the leaders job to make sure everyone is comfortable speaking out.
You should ask someone to take notes or take them yourself. Quickly recap the meeting action items at the end as well as send out a summary of what was agreed on, who will do what, and the deadlines for accomplishing the tasks. I try to do this as soon as possible so I dont forget something. Ask for feedback on anything you may have missed and on the meeting itself so you can plan even better next time.

Running an effective meeting is more than sending out a notice that you will meet at a particular time. Everyone has time constraints and people will be more willing to help if they know the meeting will be productive and well organized. With proper planning anyone can develop the skill of running an effective meeting. Id like to hear about any ideas you have for a planning and conduting a great meeting.

This entry was posted in Business, Central, Employees, Human Resources and tagged agenda, effective meeting, meeting, objectives, unproductive.

Top Five Tips for Running Productive and Show more . Show 3:52 Learn how to run an effective meeting that gets results! Productive meeting ,5 Steps to More Productive Meetings The Ground Rules. Posted on March 22, 2012 by admin. Every group has implied ground rules., 5 Tips For Running More Productive Meetings. Anne Field. Apr Try following these five steps. Click here to see some tips for running more ,[] 9 Tips for More Productive Meetings [] Six More Tips for Making Your Meetings More Productive; Five Keys to Productive Meetings;,5 Tips To Make Your Next Safety Meeting More Productive Guest Post Most of us have, here are five tips to make your next safety meeting more productive. 1.,There are certain things you can do to host more productive meetings. Follow these tips and have more productive meetings that everyone can benefit from.,Productive meetings matter a lot for starting a business and making it successful. The tips you wrote are great to read.,Without proper planning and attention, meetings can become a tremendous waste of time. Learn more about meeting productivity.,Several tips to help make your meetings as productive as they can be: Have a clear purpose, Start meetings on time, Put important items at the top, close the meeting ,Love them or hate them, meetings are an important part of business. Thankfully, by following these five simple tips, you can ensure they're not a complete

Amanda Jesnoewski - Five tips for more productive meetings
Love them or hate them, meetings are an important part of business. Thankfully, by following these five simple tips, you can ensure they're not a complete

Five Tips for More Productive Meetings | Central Insurance ...
Several tips to help make your meetings as productive as they can be: Have a clear purpose, Start meetings on time, Put important items at the top, close the meeting

Five Tips to Make Your Meetings More Productive | Regions
Without proper planning and attention, meetings can become a tremendous waste of time. Learn more about meeting productivity.

Five tips for more productive meetings - Blog - mummypreneurs
Productive meetings matter a lot for starting a business and making it successful. The tips you wrote are great to read.

5 Tips To Host More Productive Meetings |Your Office ...
There are certain things you can do to host more productive meetings. Follow these tips and have more productive meetings that everyone can benefit from.

5 Tips To Make Your Next Safety Meeting More Productive ...
5 Tips To Make Your Next Safety Meeting More Productive Guest Post Most of us have, here are five tips to make your next safety meeting more productive. 1.

9 Tips for More Productive Meetings | Intuit Small ...
[] 9 Tips for More Productive Meetings [] Six More Tips for Making Your Meetings More Productive; Five Keys to Productive Meetings;

Stop Wasting Everyone's Time: 5 Tips For Running More ...
5 Tips For Running More Productive Meetings. Anne Field. Apr Try following these five steps. Click here to see some tips for running more

5 Steps to More Productive Meetings ... The Ground Rules
5 Steps to More Productive Meetings The Ground Rules. Posted on March 22, 2012 by admin. Every group has implied ground rules.

Top Five Tips for Running Productive and Effective Meetings
Top Five Tips for Running Productive and Show more . Show 3:52 Learn how to run an effective meeting that gets results! Productive meeting

Five Tips for More Productive Meetings