Now that 2016 is in full swing it’s time to pick up the pace from the holiday season lull, which means attending more meetings to accomplish group projects. How can you tell if your company is making the most out of every meeting? Here are a few tips and tricks for making your meetings more efficient and optimizing the desired results.
Follow the Leader
The Jay Suites client portal makes booking a meeting at any of our 6 prime New York City locations a breeze, so what comes next? As a meeting organizer, you should come prepared with a clear agenda. The agenda demands focus onto the tasks at hand, eliminating any confusion and preventing meetings from going off topic. Keep it simple, set the tone by getting straight to the point. Attendees will appreciate your directness and the amount of productivity time saved. Identifying a specific purpose will make it easier to follow up once you delegate individual assignments. If distractions become apparent and the discussion starts to shift elsewhere, don’t hesitate to return back to the agenda. Keep a list of all off-topic ideas so that you can refer to them at a more appropriate time.
Time Flies
Punctuality is crucial for the success of your future meetings. If you start 1 minute late, you’re already behind. Staying on schedule demonstrates consideration for the attendees’ valuable time and limits the amount of latecomers. Though you can be strict with time, never underestimate the power of keeping it light. Meetings do not need to be dry in order to be efficient, therefore creating a stress-free environment will positively affect long term performance. Stress is a creativity inhibitor, and you want your group to feel comfortable presenting their ideas.
Be inclusive
Don’t forget to touch base with everyone during the meeting; you do not want someone to feel as if their opinions are not valued. If they are in attendance, they should be contributing to the conversation. Use the time to brainstorm without criticism, the hallmark of a great leader is the ability to assess different opinions or views to reach a truly collective decision. You should also have your team involved in the prep work, if possible hand out materials prior to the meeting date. By keeping the applicable parties in the loop, they stay informed and come prepared with ideas to bring to the table. Time spent in preparation will ultimately determine the results and efficiency of the meeting as a whole.
Some companies have gone for the no cell phone or laptop rule to limit the amount of distractions, but in the end you should chose whichever method works best for your company culture. Take the last few minutes to reiterate all points on the agenda, that way everyone knows what they are responsible for going forward. Achieve the results you want by having time-sensitive requests and holding the assigned members accountable. Keep an eye on time and reach out to your team for input, with a little extra effort you can develop the results you want for all of your meetings.
