I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who loves to attend meetings. We do it because we have to. Meetings are a necessary evil.

Now don’t get me wrong – sometimes meetings are really useful! But often, they can seem like a waste of time. During a meeting, it’s not unusual to spend an hour or two discussing an issue, and then leave with the sinking feeling that you haven’t actually accomplished anything.

So if you’re running a meeting, what can you do to ensure that it’s productive and worthwhile? Try incorporating these four techniques:

  1. Summarize key points – At the end of the meeting, provide an overview of what was discussed. Hit all the high points. Make sure that everyone is aware of the decisions that were made.
  2. Allow time for questions – If people feel confused, it’s important to provide clarification. Before the meeting ends, give people the chance to ask questions and get some answers. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
  3. Assign tasks – Give people specific jobs to do before the next meeting. Unless you assign tasks, it’s likely that nothing will get done.
  4. Follow-up with an email – After the meeting, send an email to all the participants. Thank them for their time, summarize what was discussed, outline the decisions that were made, and list the tasks that were assigned to various team members. The email will serve as a helpful reminder and reinforce key information.

 

Boogaard, K. (2017, February 20). 4 things you should do at the end of every meeting. Inc. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/kat-boogaard/4-things-you-should-do-at-the-end-of-every-meeting.html?cid=hmcol3_2