A Few Simple Tips to Run Better Meetings

Running a meeting can be hard. There is so much pressure to make sure that everything goes smoothly and that everyone gets the most out of the meeting. If you are struggling to run successful meetings, don’t worry! We have some simple tips for you that will help make your meetings more productive and less stressful. Follow these tips and you will be on your way to running better meetings in no time!

Here you will find a list of things you can do to run better meetings:

1. Define the Meeting Objectives.
2. Create an Agenda + Send Calendar Invites.
3. Create a Safe Space for Collaboration.
4. Strategically Choose Attendees + Appoint Important Roles.
5. Best Practices to Stay on Track.
6. End With Clear Actions, Owners, and Timelines

Define the Meeting Objectives

If you don’t know why you’re holding a meeting, it’s likely that it will be unproductive. Defining the objectives of the meeting beforehand is crucial to ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what needs to be accomplished. In the words of professionals from Barista AI, without clear objectives, it’s easy for meetings to devolve into aimless discussion or become an inefficient use of time.  Some questions you can ask yourself when defining the objectives of your meeting are: What needs to be discussed? What decisions need to be made? What information needs to be shared? By having a clear understanding of the purpose of the meeting, you’ll be able to ensure that it is productive and worthwhile for all involved.

Create an Agenda + Send Calendar Invites

If you want your team to be productive, it’s important to have a well-defined agenda for each meeting. This will help ensure that everyone knows what needs to be discussed and that the meeting stays on track. It’s also helpful to send calendar invites in advance so that everyone has the meeting details in one place. By taking these simple steps, you can set your team up for success.

An effective agenda should include:

• The purpose of the meeting
• The topics to be discussed
• Who will be leading each discussion
• Any necessary background information

Any action items or decisions that need to be made

Once you have your agenda created, it’s time to send out calendar invites. Make sure to include all of the relevant details in the invite, including the meeting agenda, start and end time, and location. You should also include any dial-in information for team members who can’t make it in person. By taking these simple steps, you can ensure that your meetings are productive and run smoothly.

Create a Safe Space for Collaboration

When it comes to collaboration, creating a safe space is key. This means that everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and that there is an equal opportunity for everyone to be heard. To create a safe space, start by setting ground rules at the beginning of the meeting. This could include things like no interruptions, respect for each other’s opinions, and confidentiality. Then, make sure to actively listen to each person when they are speaking. This includes making eye contact, nodding your head, and not preparing your response while someone else is talking. Finally, avoid putting people on the spot or shaming them for their ideas. If you do need to give constructive criticism, do so in a way that is respectful and helpful.

Strategically Choose Attendees + Appoint Important Roles

The next tip for running better meetings is to strategically choose attendees and appoint important roles. This means that you should only invite people who absolutely need to be there, and assign specific roles to those who are attending. For example, if you’re having a meeting about a new project, you might want to assign a project manager, a lead developer, and someone from marketing. By doing this, you’ll ensure that everyone in the meeting is there for a specific purpose and that the discussion stays focused. Additionally, appointing important roles will help keep everyone accountable and on track. Finally, when it comes to choosing attendees, be sure to also consider diversity – both in terms of background and opinion. Diversity of thought is essential for coming up with creative solutions, so don’t forget to invite a mix of people from different departments or with different points of view.

Best Practices to Stay on Track

The final tip for running better meetings is to implement some best practices to stay on track. First, start and end on time. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important to be respectful of everyone’s time by starting and ending when you say you will. Second, keep the meeting as focused as possible by sticking to the agenda. If something comes up that isn’t related to the current topic, make a note of it and save it for later. Third, encourage participation from all attendees by creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable speaking up. And finally, fourth, make sure to follow up after the meeting with a summary of what was discussed and the next steps.

End With Clear Actions, Owners, and Timelines

The most important part of any meeting is the end. This is when you want to make sure that everyone knows what the next steps are, who is responsible for each task, and when those tasks need to be completed. By having a clear understanding of these things, your team will be able to hit the ground running and make progress on whatever it is you’re working on.

There are a few different ways that you can go about this. First, you can have everyone write down their action items on a piece of paper or in a shared document. This way, there’s no confusion about what needs to be done and who is supposed to do it. You can also assign someone to be the “scribe” of the meeting, whose job it is to write down the action items and make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Whatever method you choose, just make sure that everyone knows what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. By doing this, you’ll ensure that your team is always making progress and that each meeting is productive.