How to Run an Effective Business Meeting
Dry, disorganized, and unproductive meetings are the
bane of every person in business. Unfortunately, they
are more often than not the norm. But there are many
things you can do to make sure that your meetings are
effective, efficient, and maybe even a little bit fun.
Here are some helpful guidelines to follow when
planning your next business meeting:
Before the Meeting:
Make sure everyone knows what the meeting is about,
what materials they need to bring, and where and when
it is to be held.
Designate someone to take meeting minutes. You’ll be
sorry later if no one remembers what was discussed
because there wasn’t anybody taking notes.
Reconfirm the venue, whether it’s a five-star
restaurant or your company’s conference room. You
don’t want to arrive and find someone else using your
space.
Arrange for snacks. You’d be surprised how pleased
people will be to see them. Snacks are fun and help
keep energy from lagging. Kaiser Hospital, publicly
committed to good nutrition and preventive medicine,
has a policy of serving cut-up veggies at meetings. If
your group prefers Twizzlers or donuts, that’s OK too.
Make sure you have enough copies of handouts (or any
other materials you’ll need) to distribute, and that
all other materials (easel, laptop, sound system) are
in the room and in working order before the meeting
begins. It never hurts to bring a few extra pens.
At the Meeting:
If you are running the meeting, sit at the head of the
table. This bit of nonverbal body language might seem
silly, but it works. Everyone will remember that you
are in charge, and it will be easier to maintain
control of your meeting.
Make sure everyone in the room knows one other, as
well as the reason why he or she is attending.
Be organized and stick to your agenda. Don’t allow the
meeting to get bogged down in a discussion of
minutiae. If one particular agenda item is taking too
long, move on and come back to it later.
Make sure you give everyone a chance to participate.
In any group, some people will try to take over and do
all the talking; others will hold back. It’s your job
as leader to make sure everyone contributes. It’s
often the quieter people who have the best ideas.
Don’t allow your personal feelings about individuals
to influence your acceptance or rejection of their
input. Playing favorites is unprofessional.
After the Meeting:
Thank everyone for coming.
Make sure that each person understands what was
discussed and the follow-up tasks expected.
Schedule the next meeting, if necessary.
Clean up after yourself -- don’t leave the space a
mess for the next group. Distribute minutes promptly
to everyone who attended, as well as anyone who missed
the meeting but needs to be kept in the loop.
Try not to have the same meeting over and over again.
Act on the decisions made so your group feels like
there’s been real progress.
Follow up -- make sure everyone is actually doing what
was discussed and agreed to in the meeting.
Be sure to share credit and compliments with everyone who participated.
Dry, disorganized, and unproductive meetings are the
bane of every person in business. Unfortunately, they
are more often than not the norm. But there are many
things you can do to make sure that your meetings are
effective, efficient, and maybe even a little bit fun.
Here are some helpful guidelines to follow when
planning your next business meeting:
Before the Meeting:
Make sure everyone knows what the meeting is about,
what materials they need to bring, and where and when
it is to be held.
Designate someone to take meeting minutes. You’ll be
sorry later if no one remembers what was discussed
because there wasn’t anybody taking notes.
Reconfirm the venue, whether it’s a five-star
restaurant or your company’s conference room. You
don’t want to arrive and find someone else using your
space.
Arrange for snacks. You’d be surprised how pleased
people will be to see them. Snacks are fun and help
keep energy from lagging. Kaiser Hospital, publicly
committed to good nutrition and preventive medicine,
has a policy of serving cut-up veggies at meetings. If
your group prefers Twizzlers or donuts, that’s OK too.
Make sure you have enough copies of handouts (or any
other materials you’ll need) to distribute, and that
all other materials (easel, laptop, sound system) are
in the room and in working order before the meeting
begins. It never hurts to bring a few extra pens.
At the Meeting:
If you are running the meeting, sit at the head of the
table. This bit of nonverbal body language might seem
silly, but it works. Everyone will remember that you
are in charge, and it will be easier to maintain
control of your meeting.
Make sure everyone in the room knows one other, as
well as the reason why he or she is attending.
Be organized and stick to your agenda. Don’t allow the
meeting to get bogged down in a discussion of
minutiae. If one particular agenda item is taking too
long, move on and come back to it later.
Make sure you give everyone a chance to participate.
In any group, some people will try to take over and do
all the talking; others will hold back. It’s your job
as leader to make sure everyone contributes. It’s
often the quieter people who have the best ideas.
Don’t allow your personal feelings about individuals
to influence your acceptance or rejection of their
input. Playing favorites is unprofessional.
After the Meeting:
Thank everyone for coming.
Make sure that each person understands what was
discussed and the follow-up tasks expected.
Schedule the next meeting, if necessary.
Clean up after yourself -- don’t leave the space a
mess for the next group. Distribute minutes promptly
to everyone who attended, as well as anyone who missed
the meeting but needs to be kept in the loop.
Try not to have the same meeting over and over again.
Act on the decisions made so your group feels like
there’s been real progress.
Follow up -- make sure everyone is actually doing what
was discussed and agreed to in the meeting.
Be sure to share credit and compliments with everyone who participated.