Emerson Exchange 365

You've likely heard the phrase "death by meetings," but did you know? 

-   The typical American attends 60 meetings/month

-    50% of meeting time is wasted

-    39% of people doze off during meetings

 Here are a few habits I’ve learned which have really cut down meeting times for me and my team:

BEFORE YOUR MEETING

• Have an Agenda. Distribute an agenda for every meeting and you’ll be one step closer to efficiency and effectiveness.
• Set the Tone. State the meeting objective in your agenda and again at the beginning of each meeting.

DURING YOUR MEETING

• Appoint someone to take notes. This person should record detailed meeting minutes, specifying action items and include deadlines which are discussed. Here are some great and free note-taking templates on the web.
• Be Present. Ask everyone to turn their devices off to ensure attention is focused on the meeting objectives. This applies to the leader(s) as well.
• Use a Timer. Most people don’t stop at discussing just the agenda items…

If your team is notorious for going over the allotted time for each item, set a timer for each agenda item and then coach each member to wrap it up when the timer goes off.

• Know when to move away from a topic – use a parking lot. A parking lot is a reserved space on a white or flip board for items that might not be exactly on-topic, but are still worth discussing. Revisiting the items at the conclusion of the meeting tells attendees that you respect their ideas and that you are considerate of their time.

 AFTER YOUR MEETING

• Re-emphasize the objective and discussion points. Close your meeting with a quick summary and plan of action.
• Ensure important information remains ‘top of mind’. Remind the designated note-taker to send the meeting notes and deadlines to all attendees immediately after the meeting.
• Follow-up within a week. The meeting host should follow-up on action items within one week and on a weekly basis thereafter.

Use these meeting tips can help you eliminate meeting dread; if you’re lucky, people may even look forward to seeing your meeting notifications pop up on their calendar. Are you a meeting guru? Reply below to share techniques you’ve found to be effective.