Small-medium Business Meetings: 7 Ways To Make Them Effective, Purposeful And Brief
We spend lots of time in business meetings, both formal and informal
. But sometimes the meetings are more frustrating than successful. Managers are often their own worst enemies in forging successful business meetings.Meetings are common in business. They're just a form of face to face communication. They may be formal, semi-formal or informal. But if two or more people get together to discuss or talk about something, its a meeting. That includes videoconferencing and teleconferencing. But meetings aren't always a rewarding experience.
The Constant Complaints
People complain constantly that lots of the meetings they attend are inadequate in some way. No conclusions are reached. No decisions are made. Disagreements arent resolved. Other people waffle on. Note that its always others who waffle. The meetings drag on. They dont get a good hearing and so on and so on.
These ideas may help alleviate the worst meeting excesses
1. Be Punctual.
Start on time regardless of how many of the expected people are present. If that means latecomers miss out on something they wanted to say, so be it. They'll learn to be punctual with time.
2. Finish On Time.
Set a finish time and stick to it. If you have unfinished business when the allotted time expires, schedule another meeting. Its quite unreasonable to expect busy people to sit in seemingly endless meetings when theyve already interrupted normal work to attend.
3. Restrict Participation.
Invite contributors only. "Contributors only" means just that. Inviting observers or others "For experience" benefits no one. If people have nothing to contribute or arent likely to be affected by whats discussed at the meeting, theres usually no need for them to be at the meeting.
4. Clear Objectives.
Specify the purpose of the meeting and stick to it. Stop participants from introducing other issues unless they are likely to have a major impact on the meeting purpose. Have a topic and a goal and stick with them.
5. Full Participation
Encourage full participation at all times. Try to ensure that everyone feels that theyve had the opportunity to have their say. Some participants may want to out talk or talk down others. Stop this sort of thing the moment it starts.
6. Encourage Small Meetings.
Where only a few participants are qualified to speak on a particular aspect or issue, encourage them to meet separately and report back to the whole group. This also ensures that your meeting isn't bogged down in discussing technical matters where few participants have the expertise to participate fully.
7. Record Decisions.
Make notes of any conclusions or decisions reached. Keep a record of the people to whom responsibility and deadlines are allocated. Circulate this information to attendees after the meeting. If another meeting is necessary, schedule it before people leave. If you need another meeting, its best to arrange it while everyones together.
Conclusion.
Meetings can be boring, tedious and even unpleasant. They can also be effective, purposeful and enjoyable. The whole point of business meetings is to progress and improve the business. If that's not the case in your business, try these tips.
by: Leon Noone Why List Building Is So Important To The Success Of Your Online Business Business Debit Card: More Than A Checkbook And Better Than The Atm Card Improve your business with time How To Approach China Market: Business Relationship Maintain And After-sales Service Call Forwarding as a Business Tool (Local and International) Online Casino Cash Scam Little Nothings Are Big Business Cash Loans for People with Bad Credit – Loan for Everyone Building A Strong Foundation With Business Development Tools Make Money in Real Estate: Finding Business Partners Building A Better Mousetrap With Business Management Techniques Outsourcing Your Business Development Tools What is a SSL Certificate and How Will it Help My Online Business?