Meetings are a necessary part of the business world, no matter the industry. There are meetings that are long and boring, short and to the point, and those that are completely ineffective. If you have ever had the unfortunate experience of attending a meeting that led to no achievement of goals, you’re not alone.
When it comes to the effectiveness of a meeting, real results happen when the host is good at leading them. Take the advice of Lisa Quast, a Forbes contributor, as she outlines seven steps to leading an effective meeting.
Define key aspects of the meeting. What do you plan to accomplish by holding this meeting?
Determine agenda and attendees. How long will the meeting run? Does anyone need to present anything, who needs to be there? What are the topics that will be covered?
Find and reserve location. Depending on the amount of people attending you may need to prepare a location ahead of time.
Conduct pre-meeting prep work. Quast suggests assigning roles to meeting attendees for a fluid process.
- Note taker – records any ideas or issues that should be implemented or addressed.
- Timekeeper – ensures that all items are covered in a timely manner to stay within the allotted time.
- Devil’s advocate – makes sure that all possibilities are explored for any idea presented
- Parking lot writer – records any ideas that are not related to the meeting goals
Open, facilitate, and close meeting. Keep everyone engaged by informing them what will occur throughout the meeting.
Quickly send out meeting minutes. Send out the recap of the meeting as soon as possible.
Learn from your mistakes. With all of the different temperaments that you will deal with the meeting will not run perfectly. Take the time to learn from each instance for higher turnarounds.
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