According to Romy newman, here are some ways you can steer your meetings in a positive direction.
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Have a clear objective
Always have a clear objective, if you don’t even know the agenda then the meeting is pointless. Before you wrap up the meeting, make sure everyone who is in the room leaves with something.
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Have an agenda—and make it obvious
Be sure to let them know exactly what you want to cover and in what order. This will help a lot in terms of keeping everything on track.
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Keep it short
Everyone has a lot more important things to do. The shorter you make it, the more people will appreciate it. Time is gold people, use it wisely.
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Book a comfortable room
They might look like they’re listening to you when in fact they’re just distracted with the conditions that they’re in. Keep them as comfortable as possible so they can listen with a clear mind.
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Choose the right seat
The leader should always sit in the middle if the table is long. This enables you to get close with everyone.
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Bring bribes—ehm, snacks
Well, the title speaks for itself. Who doesn’t love a good snack. Keep it interesting and bring different kinds of snacks. You’re colleagues will love you for that.
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Phones down, heads up
Before you start the meeting, remind everyone to put away their phones and technologies until the meeting is over. It’s important that they only focus on the meeting and not their phones.
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Make sure all key stakeholders can and will attend
Well there’s no point in having a meeting if the people who are involved are not there. Be sure to remind them a day before the meeting so that they wouldn’t forget.
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Keep the tone purposeful but light
Humor always works if you want to keep them interested. Make the meeting more enjoyable for everyone, that’s the fastest way to make people want to listen to you.
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Keep on track
We all know that person who has a say in everything even though it has no relation to the topic whatsoever. If do you encounter problems like this, just say , “that’s a great thought. Let’s schedule a separate meeting to discuss it.”
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Elicit participation from everyone
Whenever someone seems quiet but they look like they have something to say, call them out. Same goes for people who is not paying attention to the meeting.
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Take group notes on a whiteboard
Let people know that you’re interested in whatever they have to say. This will boost up productivity because they know that whatever they had to say is acknowledged.
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Blatantly wrap up
One you’ve covered everything, recap all the key findings and don’t forget to thank everyone for making the meeting a success.
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Thank everyone for their time
These days, time is the most precious commodity anyone has. Thank them for making time to join you.
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End five minutes early
The only person who doesn’t want to end early is the speaker. Reality is people actually don’t care about what else you want to say once the agenda of the meeting is solved. You’re not only wasting your time but also your colleagues’ time
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Send a meeting recap, notes, and follow-up
After everything is said and done, all you have to do now is assign people to be responsible with the follow up plans.
Wow that’s a lot of tips but it is useful because meetings happen all the time so be sure to follow these simple tips!
Here some gadget that can help you on the meeting.
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