For profit or not-for-profit, many organizations do not properly utilize meetings as a tool for communication. Many times meetings are not effective because the three simple rules of meetings are forgotten:
Meetings need to have a purpose.
Meetings should convey useful information, and
Meetings should be interesting.
Three simple rules.
Purpose:
- As a leader, it is your responsibility to make sure your associates understand what is going on. I have heard many managers complain “I told them what to do, why can’t they just do it?” when procedures are not properly executed. If people don’t execute properly, many times it is because they did not listen or understand the importance of why they should do something. As a leader, you need to find a way to communicate all of these points to your associates. Remember; not all managers are effective leaders, but effective leaders are always good managers.
- If your organization has standard recurring meetings, only have the meeting if there is a reason to have the meetings. Your associates are busy people, so show them that you value and respect their time by ensuring that each meeting’s purpose will have an impact on their activities.
- Keep things focused on those who are affected by the topics of the meeting. Give associates who are not directly involved the option to “skip” the meeting.
Information:
- Clarity and transparency trump secrecy and subterfuge. Always tell your associates what you can and never mislead them. If you want to build a culture of teamwork and build up your associates … trust them.
- If someone can misinterpret what you are saying, they will. Misinterpretation occurs when associates are not engaged, or if your meeting lacks focus and/or is not engaging your audience; under these circumstances, the chances of proper execution diminish substantially.
- Tying into the previous point, if you ask someone whether they understand, most people will say “yes” – regardless of the truth – to avoid looking bad in front of everyone. Finding a more effective way to ensure comprehension is the hallmark of a good leader.
- One great way to test for understanding is to finish your meetings by asking everyone to recap one of its key points. This gives your associates an opportunity to share something they remember without “losing face.” If you make it a regular feature of your meetings, your associates will make a greater effort to be prepared. If a key point has been forgotten, you as the leader can remind everyone as a final remark before ending the meeting.
- Start each meeting with a quick recap of the key points from the last meeting, including any assignments given to associates in the group. Too often meetings discuss important topics while neglecting the connections and follow-ups between different sessions.
- Take minutes of your meetings and make sure everyone gets a copy, including the people who were not there. A meeting may cover important points, but they get lost if no one remembers to record them. Having more than one person taking minutes is even better; if one person misses a point, the other can pick up where they left off.
Interesting:
- Have an agenda and a goal for your meetings. Divergence from the agenda is okay as long as the tangent is relevant. Ask for feedback from your associates to keep your meetings relevant and meaningful.
- Whenever possible, have other members of your team present information. Allowing other participants to have a voice is a great way to encourage associate engagement and active involvement. Guest speakers from outside your organization can help introduce new ideas and concepts as well.
- Talk with your associates, not at them. It is a subtle thing, but great leaders understand this. Sit and engage the participants rather than just standing and talking to them.
- Ensure that any technology being used works. Few things are as annoying as a group of people waiting for a PowerPoint to load properly because someone failed to test their presentation prior to the start of the meeting.
- For SMEs, try to never have meetings exceed sixty minutes. In my experience, it is better to schedule a second meeting to finish the agenda than to subject your participants to a longer meeting than what they planned on.
- Never take your own minutes. As the leader of the meeting, your focus should be on watching your participants for understanding and questions, not writing down what is being said.
- Don’t be boring. Plan your meetings, make them interesting, and people will remember what was covered and pay more attention. Whatever the topic, try to infuse passion and enthusiasm into your presentation.
- Encourage questions as a way to make your meetings interactive. If your associates don’t have questions, ask them questions to get them involved.
- PowerPoint presentations can be very effective, but remember to avoid the “PowerPoint trap.” A “PowerPoint trap” happens when a presenter only presents the information on the slide. PowerPoint is a tool, a supporting tool, not the only tool a leader uses to make points and to ensure comprehension. When asking questions, use a random order instead of going around the table. Move around the room when talking to keep them paying attention to you.
- If you are, the manager or owner and you are not presenting in the meeting at the moment … PAY ATTENTION! DO NOT BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE! It is incredibly rude and unprofessional, and I don’t care if you think you are multitasking.
Three basic rules: purpose, information, and interesting. Meetings are a great tool, whether in person or online. Having all of your associates understand what is going on, combined with the ability to confidently execute, is one of the most important competitive advantages an organization can have.
Good luck,
Paul.