4 Easy Tips for Running Efficient Meetings

We’ve all been there, stuck there sitting in a meeting that drones on and on.

The meeting that never starts on time, seems unorganized and unclear.

The meeting where everyone is wondering, “Why am I even here?”

Here are a few tips on how to avoid draining the energy and excitement out of your employees and begin to run effective and efficient meetings.

Establishing a clear objective

Determine what exactly you’d like to accomplish during the meeting. Come up with a purpose and communicate what you want to accomplish in that meeting before you hit send on the calendar invite.

Who is attending

Evaluate who should be in attendance for the meeting and remember to value their time. If you don’t need them there, don’t invite them. If you invite people who do not need to be in attendance, they will view it as a waste of time and will remain unfocused throughout the entire meeting and maybe even distract others. If what’s being discussed is not relevant to some people, consider not sending the calendar invite to those individuals.

Creating a schedule

Set the agenda. Create a list of talking points to cover. Know what you are going to discuss and how you plan to begin and end the meeting. Setting a clear beginning and ending will help the meeting run smoothly. This shows your employees that you value their time. Consider summarizing the meeting in a handout or writing it on display for everyone to see what is going to be accomplished during their time in the meeting. Some people prefer seeing an agenda to give them a sense of why they’re there and what is going to be discussed so that they remain focused.

Eliminating distractions

Set a goal for yourself to start on time and end on time. Of course, time is money. Put the technology away, unless absolutely necessary. Avoiding the use of technology keeps people from getting distracted from emails coming in or working on another task they need to accomplish. Let’s be real, if someone has their laptop open and are typing away, chances are they’re not listening and responding to emails or other projects. Value your employees and coworkers time with a clear plan.