Tips to run an effective meeting
Are the meetings you are attending or running the best use of your and your team's time? It’s said that executives spend nearly 23 hours of their working week in meetings and 70% of this meeting time is counted as unproductive! That’s a lot of wasted time that could be spent elsewhere.
Meetings are important for collaborating, sharing ideas, building relationships, and creating a plan of action. That’s why it’s especially important every meeting you run or attend needs to have some clear guidelines to deliver the outcome intended.
Here are some tips so you can make the best use of your meeting time.
Set a key objective
Effective meetings need to have a clear purpose. What’s the point in running a meeting if you don’t intend to get anything out of it?
Firstly, think if the objective is worth holding a meeting over
Create an agenda
With time being one of our most valued assets, an agenda can provide a set of clear topics, objectives, and time frames. It will help other presenters come prepared to the meeting
Agenda topics should be designed around issues that affect the whole team which can be put up for discussion and decision-making.
Prep
Come to a meeting prepared. It will ensure you get the absolute most out of the meeting and your time slot in the agenda and position you to make informed decisions.
Sort the logistics
Ensure that the logistics around the meeting are properly organised BEFORE the meeting starts. Invites need to be sent out to all those who are required to attend, any tech equipment should be tested to ensure it’s working properly, and the agenda and any supporting documentation should be sent to the attendees for review before the meeting too.
Have a chairperson
A chairperson is an integral part of any effective meeting. They are the person who will take the lead in the meeting and make sure things are running on time. This dedicated person needs to be assertive if discussions run off track or if things start running behind schedule.
Take minutes
It’s important to have written documentation of the what, the who, and the when. Any higher-level meetings should have a dedicated minute taker who minutes the course of the meeting and any actions.
Recap and follow up
As the meeting comes to a close, a summary of key points, actions and deadlines is a good way to keep these top of mind after a heap of discussion. Ensure that any non-attendees also receive a copy of the documentation. And lastly, it needs to be the responsibility of the meeting leader/project manager to follow up and make sure that action is being taken. People tend to get caught up in day-to-day activities resulting in meeting actions getting pushed down the priority list. Constant follow-ups need to be done without waiting until the next meeting.
How a Virtual Assistant can set you up for meetings that matter
A Virtual Executive Assistant is the perfect resource to leverage when it comes to facilitating effective meetings. They can assist with all aspects of the meeting like, helping define your objective, creating an agenda, prep, the logistics, taking minutes and even help with following up on actions.
All you need to do is come prepared and turn up.
EAssist is a trusted NZ Virtual Assistant business who specialises in administration and executive level support. If you’d like someone to provide proactive support in setting up effective meetings reach out a let’s chat.
