3 Steps to Productive Meetings

  Communications Management  

Eleven million corporate meetings are held daily in the United States. According to a survey by the organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, two-thirds of respondents say that spending too much time in meetings and on calls distracts them from making an impact at work. A third say they waste between 2-5 hours per week on calls or meetings that accomplish little to nothing of value.

Before I give you three simple steps to conduct meaningful, inspirational, momentum-building meetings, your first job is to ask yourself this question: Can the objective be accomplished without a meeting? Maybe a series of brief emails or a quick phone call with one or two key players will get it done.

So, it must be a meeting? OK, here are the steps:

1. Publish an agenda. The biggest expectation of participants and their own perception of the effectiveness of a meeting has to do with the presence of an agenda. Send it out 24 hours in advance of the meeting so everyone is clear on the outcome, expectations, attendees, leads and time limits on each agenda item.

2. A little planning goes a long way. The more you plan, the more productive your meetings will be. And planning is easy:

• Invite only those who are critical to the outcome of the meeting and confirm they will be there.
• Lock in the right location to ensure enough space (physical or virtual).
• Verify resources in advance: …

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