Oftentimes, when your employees hear the word ‘meeting’, they feel pressured because of some factors such as the meeting might either be delivering not-so-good news or additional tasks need to be done as soon as possible. But, in reality, meetings are not just about those things. A meeting can also be a way to deliver good news or more opportunities for everyone.
In every business, time is money, especially when you’re in an office space. Time should not be wasted because there can be opportunities that might be missed out by not doing anything. Everyone in your team, including you, has deliverables that need to be taken care of which is not ideal if it becomes the cause for the business not to operate well.
In this blog, we will share with you some important reminders that you can do, as the employer or head of the team, when organizing and during the meeting.
Before The Meeting
As the leader of your business and your team, conducting a meeting is one of the ways for you to be able to deliver important news, information, and announcements. This will let you be able to make you and your team be on the same page and work together. So, before every meeting, here are the important reminders that you need to consider.
Prepare A Realistic Agenda
Preparing agendas is one thing to ensure that the time to be allotted for the meeting would be meaningful. But ensuring that ‘realistic’ agendas are made will make the meeting go smoothly.
An agenda will indicate what will be discussed in the meeting and keep the flow according to the details and on track so that off topics will be avoided. Without it, the meeting may result to be completed as such important topics would not be tackled, proper questions would not be raised, and planning for resolutions to the questions and strategy on how to put each task into motion would not be made.
Let Your Team Know About The Meeting Beforehand
Ensure meeting invites would be sent or announcements would be made prior to the date and time of the meeting. Although, in some instances, there are meetings conducted on short notice. But, as much as possible, letting people know about the meeting date is recommended. This will give everyone ample time to prepare their schedules, avoid setting aside ongoing tasks and be mentally prepared.
If possible, let them also know about the meeting agendas through the invite and announcement. This will make the attendees feel less anxious and have them be prepared mentally and physically.
Be Punctual
Whether you are the host or a participant of the meeting, punctuality is one of the keys for the meeting to be successful.
Before the meeting begins, make sure that you are prepared.
For face-to-face meetings
- The meeting venue is in a professional setup
- Arrive at least 10 minutes before it starts
- Get your water or coffee ready
- Take a quick bathroom break before the meeting starts
- You have a pen and paper with you for taking notes
- You’re properly dressed
For online/virtual meetings
- Ensure that the meeting link is working and you’re in the waiting room before the meeting starts
- Your headphones and microphone are working
- Your webcam is working
- You have ample lighting and good background
- You’re in a quiet area
- You’re properly dressed and ready
Punctuality is not only measured by arriving early before the meeting starts but also through your readiness to attend the event.
During The Meeting
During a meeting, whether it’s in a traditional or virtual setup, there are important reminders that you should not forget. This is to ensure that you’re portraying professionalism whether you’re the host or the participant.
Use The Right Materials
If you are the host, ensure that you have the meeting agendas printed out neatly and distributed to each participant of the meeting. Make sure that you have the right visuals to show during your presentation—this may come in forms like PowerPoint presentations, writings on whiteboard, or printouts of specifics that you’re discussing. This will show your readiness and showcase your leadership skills.
If you are a participant, using pen and paper or the notepad on your laptop would come in handy in taking notes. This will keep you on track with the things discussed in the meeting after.
Use Time Wisely
In general, a meeting doesn’t take a long period of hours unless pressing or emergency matters need to be discussed. But the meeting itself is also divided into parts in order to be able to tackle all of the agendas. Usually, for each agenda, there may be someone to lead on discussing each.
Each presenter in the meeting has allotted time to thoroughly discuss, explain, and accommodate questions. This helps to ensure each and every attendee understands what it is all about and how each concern has to be strategically addressed.
For hosts or presenters, make sure to use the time wisely and avoid opening or starting off topics that may affect other agendas. And for attendees, ensure that the right questions would be asked during the time for the question and answer part so the presenter won’t get distracted along with your fellow attendees.
For meeting moderators, ensure to log the time allotted during the discussion. And redirect off-topic conversations or questions to a later time so the right discussion would be continued.
Conclude The Meeting On A High Note
As the host of the meeting, you should ensure that it will be concluded on a high or positive note. This is because meetings that are done in the beginning or in the middle of the day have a high potential to affect each and everyone’s mood throughout the working hours. For example, encouraging your employees or team members that all of you can do a good job.
Make sure that all the agendas and topics discussed (verbal-minutes-of-the meeting) are recorded and would be sent via email for transparency.
In Conclusion
Organizing and conducting a meeting can sometimes be quite challenging for both the meeting host and the participants. Nonetheless, this is not an excuse to skip over this activity in any business. Meetings are important to set the records straight, ensure that everyone is on the same page, and there’s good transparency in the operation of a business.
Whether you are working in a traditional office or your business is operating in a shared office space (working remotely), meetings will serve as a good platform for each and everyone that is part of the business to have a common ground and work productively. Being able to stick to a meeting’s agenda(s) will ensure that everything will go smoothly and make the business flourish.