Meetings can sometimes be so ineffective that people think of them as four-letter words, with a few extra letters thrown in. But effective meetings are possible.
An effective meeting can leave attendees feeling energized, with a renewed sense of purpose and clear understanding of what is expected of them and what the next steps to be. Good meetings don’t just happen, however – they take work. First, plan the meeting out. Then at the meeting:
Compartmentalize socializing. Catching up with friends can monopolize a good chunk of meeting time, particularly when the meeting is composed of people who do not see each other regularly, such as board members. While socialization is important for group cohesion, and cutting chit-chat short can bring negative vibes into the meeting, it is also important to get to the tasks at hand and be sensitive to the fact that everyone has other obligations.
Sometimes you can pencil in socializing; for instance, with a roundrobin that has everyone tell the highlight of their week. In certain groups, however, a simple “How are you?” can turn into a 30-minute sob story. Important, maybe, but not good for an effective meeting. In such cases, it might be good to have the meeting right before or after lunch or dinner. Encourage people to come early or stay late to chat and catch-up, but let everyone know that the time allotted for the meeting is for business only.
Balance personalities. Some people tend to dominate meetings, not by the importance of their message, but because of the force of their personality. Other people hardly say a peep, even though they may have great ideas or information that everyone else needs to know. For a meeting to be effective, it’s important to not let one voice dominate, particularly when decisions need to be made. Do not mistake lack of discussion with agreement about what course of action to take.
If the same person speaks up again and again, say something like “Thank you for that comment, Tom. We’ll get back to you later, but right now, I want to know what Barb is thinking.”
If someone is particularly reluctant to speak up during a meeting, approach him or her with a specific request. Try “Sam, how would this affect the ABC program?” or “When I was talking to Ann about this earlier, she mentioned a potential fix to the transportation issue. Ann, you can explain it to the group better than I can.”
To run an effective meeting, solicit several people’s (or everyone’s) input regularly. If you allow someone to dominate most of the meeting, and then ask everyone else to chime in on some important decision, they may be more likely to toe the line regardless of their thoughts or concerns.
Report. Make sure everyone is on the same page. The meeting report can just be a series of bullets including key announcements, decisions, and action items. Having a written record of who is supposed to do what will save headaches down the line, and will help with effective planning for the next meeting. If it is an official meeting that has to be documented, someone should take meeting minutes.
Fine Tune. Every meeting is not going to go flawlessly, particularly at first. Debriefing (even by oneself) is important. Think about things that decreased the meeting’s effectiveness: Was the meeting agenda too packed? Did people come unprepared? If a discussion broke down, why? Then decide on an approach to change the situation. It might mean preparing a meeting packet a couple of days in advance. It might mean taking someone aside before the meeting to explain expectations.
