How To Run a Meeting That Doesn’t Waste Time

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How To Run a Meeting That Doesn’t Waste Time

Want to get a rep for running a tight and effective meeting—one that gets results and doesn’t waste your co-workers’ time? Follow these simple steps:

1. Thoroughly prepare for the meeting. Draw up an agenda and distribute it in advance of the meeting. Build in reading time for any supporting documents, sending them out a day or two ahead.

2. Only invite those specifically concerned with the topic/s. Doing so keeps you from wasting other people’s time (for which they’ll be mucho grateful) and lets you run a lean and effective meeting machine.

3. Give advance notice of the meeting’s start and end times—and stick to them! If people come late, don’t stop the meeting to help them catch up (this almost guarantees they’ll be on time at the next meeting). And ending the meeting when you say you will helps to prevent getting bogged down in minutia.

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© Suzanne Rodriguez
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4. Consider an informal ban on tech gear (cell phones, PDAs, laptops, etc.) to keep everyone focused on what’s going on. For more information, see our post entitled “Should You Ban Technology From Meetings?“

5. Ask everyone present for input, getting all viewpoints on the table. Isn’t that the point of a meeting? Listen equally to all, without insulting those with whom you disagree. This shows co-workers that you need and respect their opinions. Also, once participants give voice to their own opinion they’ll be stakeholders in the meeting, and thus less inclined to view the whole thing as a waste of time.

6. Keep a tight rein on the meeting’s focus. Don’t allow the conversation to wander off into unrelated subjects. Just quietly say: “Let’s stick to the subject at hand.” Also, since you’re a person who ends meetings on time (See #3), you can blame the agenda when you cut someone off: “That’s interesting, Mike, but let’s save it for another time. We’ve got to stick to the agenda if we’re to end on time.”

7. After all points have been covered: (a) review what was discussed; and (b) create an Action Plan with assignments and a timeline.

8. Before participants depart, ask if they found the meeting constructive. Also ask for suggestions to make the next meeting even better. You’ll get some good, workable tips—and, once again, you’ll be upping that stakeholder element.

9. Send an email to all participants and relevant others that sums up the meeting. And—why not?—be sure to copy your superiors.

10. All of this is for naught if you don’t follow through. Establish a system that helps you keep track of the Action Plan’s tasks and all related assignments.