The meeting must always have meaning, they are not there to be described as time-consuming and leave the teams feeling like a waste of time. Meetings are part of the daily life of a company, whether face-to-face, remotely or in hybrid mode. There are various reasons why they may be implemented. Your challenge is to make them productive and captivating! Here are 10 tips for having a good meeting.
Inform participants in advance and know their schedule
The meeting occupies a large place within the company. It remains necessary to notify in advance and not on the day so that everyone can attend and organize their schedule, particularly with teleworking days. What use can we find in it if no one is available at the time or if everyone is in an emergency? None ! Giving the date beforehand (via a shared calendar) allows you to organize it well and take the necessary time. Don’t wait until the last moment!
Describe the purpose of the meeting
Before you begin anything, it may be helpful to provide the meeting objective(s) to each participant. An agenda is still recommended for an effective meeting. For what ? Know in advance which themes will be addressed allows us to think about it in advance. A plan of themes covered greatly facilitates understanding of the latter, especially if the subjects are multiple or complex! Prepare it once the objective is well determined to make it as effective as possible.
Invite the right, legitimate people
The aim of a meeting remains to address specific themes which require the presence of the actors who contribute to them or to inform the group of the progress of points concerning them. It happens to invite peoplenes who play no role in it and who are not concerneded by the exchanges that will take place.
Conversely, you may forget to invite people who are affected by the subject. So that the meeting does not serve any purpose, the employees concerned must respond to the call. Plan ae list in advance to remain efficient and ensure the legitimacy of each participant. Don’t do not meetings for the sake of meetings! Reunionitis awaits you…
Define a short window and control the time
Nothing worse than a meeting that goes on forever. Favor shorter formats (25 or 45 minutes instead of traditional 30 or 60 minute sessions) to give participants time to breathe between two discussions. Designate a time manager (timekeeper) at the start of the allotted time in order to respect the set schedule and maintain a sustained pace.
Make the meeting friendly
Do you find it difficult to stay connected to reality when hunger invades you? All you can think about is feeding yourself? No problem ! Bring small snacks to avoid dispersion! If it does not take place within a meal time slot, there is no need to provide enough food for a regiment!
Prepare only what you need to satisfy a little hunger. A more pleasant side comes outhas of the latter. We can’t concentrate on Fridaybe empty! For remote meetings, allow a short time for informal discussion at the start of the session to preserve the conviviality of the group.
Make it lively and interactive
Imagine a meeting where the person responsible for facilitating it remains seated throughout. The time seems long, right? Whether it’s you or a manager who takes care of this part, stay moving and be dynamic to keep the participants awake. The meeting can perfectly be held standing (stand-up meeting) or rely on survey and live voting tools to be as effective as possible. It should not be synonymous with boredom. Making it lively remains the key to success so as not to lose people’s attention and to make it pleasant.
There is nothing better than a good animation to achieve aa quality meeting. At the same time, the orientation of the subjects and the distribution fair share of the floor goes to the organizer. The audience is yours!
Use visual diagrams and collaborative tools
To help improve the meeting, visual supports remain popular! Using them brings benefits to your presentation, whether it’s a split screen, a collaborative whiteboard or clean slides.
If you want to pass on figures to your team for example, will you give them as such? Of course not! You will present them with a diagram or graph without overloading your materials. Participants will better remember and receive the message and data you want to convey. The exhibition of these will be even more visually pleasing! Your meetings become more pleasant and more meaningful with concrete imagesyour.
Setting attention rules (targeted disconnection)
To ensure everyone’s full presence, put in place clear disconnection rules. Ask participants to put away their cell phones and close their tabs or emails during discussions. Fewer digital distractions ensure smoother discussions, faster decisions and truly active listening.
Integrate equity for the hybrid format
If some participants are in person and others are remote, be careful not to create a “two-speed meeting”. Make sure you have quality audio and video equipment so everyone hears and is heard seamlessly. Regularly solicit remote employees so that everyone has the same weight in decision-making.
Produce an efficient and action-oriented report
At the end of the meeting, it is useful to provide a report of the major points discussed as well as the changes that will be implemented. You can appoint someone at the start of the meeting to take notes or rely on automated assistance tools. The summary will be sent to each participant: everyone will remain informed, even those who were unable to attend.
A good report summarizes both the positive and negative points and clearly defines a action chart (who does what, for when). Do not hesitate to get opinions on the meeting, but also on the clarity of the minutes. You can send a message or ask participants directly to find out how they feel about the meeting and implement improvements based on their feedback. If they find nothing to complain about, great! Your meeting remains a real success !
