You know your meetings are terrible, so try this

Posted by on Oct 24, 2014

Because they’re so frequent and time-consuming, meetings are a huge opportunity for improvement. A few smart changes can produce fewer sessions that get more done in less time.

1. Clarify why you’re meeting — or don’t have the meeting. It’s amazing how many meetings are held for no good reason. The biggest culprits are those “same day, same time” sessions that people carve into their calendars. Before every meeting, define the purpose and identify at least one intended outcome. If nothing comes to the surface, expect more nothing during the session.

2. Stay focused yet flexible. There are times in meetings when digressions are worthwhile and when certain issues should move up in priority. It’s a judgment call every time, but be ready and willing to divert from that carefully crafted agenda.

3. Redefine how you “lead” meetings. When six people are around a meeting table, it’s like having six supercomputers. In fact, people are better because they also have emotional intelligence. Instead of “leading” the meeting in traditional power-seat fashion, facilitate the session. Instead of making statements, ask questions. Instead of raising objections, ask more questions.

4. Be your own constructive coach. Are you talking too much? Are you holding back? Are you listening to understand, or are you simply gathering enough info to frame your counterpoint? What would you say about you if you were sitting in the meeting with yourself? If you can’t be objective or honest with these questions, ask a friend who attends the same meetings.

5. Shake up the meeting space. When meetings are held in the same place over and over, with the same people taking the same chairs around the same table, it’s no wonder we recycle our conversations and get the same stale results. So get moving. Take the meeting to a different room or an outdoor patio or a nearby restaurant or anywhere new. If you’re stuck with the room, ditch the table or vary who sits where.

6. Uncover ways to make the next meeting better. At the end of every meeting, take a minute to check how things went. Have people cite what went well during the session, what could’ve gone better, and what should be done differently the next time around. Commit to one or two improvements.

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By Tom TerezContact