HOW TO HOLD A (BUSINESS) MEETING?

In every organization or company leaders, as well as employees, sooner or later ask themselves whether their meetings are effective and successful. Have you ever wondered why it is even important what a meeting is like?

Namely, they are very important because they enable employees to obtain information about events in the organization and information about the task holders, and at the same time they enable joint agreement, planning and verification. Many times, however, employees complain that meetings are unsuccessful. Employees often leave meetings with the same questions they had at the beginning. So I have prepared some suggestions for you on how to lead a successful meeting.

Let’s start at the very beginning. How to start?

1. Tell everyone what the meeting is about. Most people are “set” on WIIFM – What’s in it for me? That is, what it means to me personally.
2. Encourage positivity. How you start a meeting usually determines how the rest of it will go.
3. Share statistics with your employees. The facts convince people.
4. Tell a story.

A story can teach a morally important lesson or even make people smile. Like a quote or a statistic, we should share a story that is somehow related to the audience. However, you have a little more flexibility here. For example, you can share a success story; something that went well with a client or team member who went beyond the call of duty. Or you can talk about something you’ve recently read about an extremely successful product launch that has made you rethink the strategy you originally set out to do. People tend to connect well with an anecdote, regardless of context. Not to mention that the heart, not just the mind, interferes with the thought process.

However, for your meeting to be truly successful, it must have a clear purpose. Only then will you “convince” your people.

• Find out if you really need a meeting.
• Choose meeting participants who can contribute something, have added value.
• Create and share an agenda.
• Set a schedule for maximum engagement.
• Encourage participation – remind employees several times, send an invitation a few days in advance so that people can get organized more easily.
• Be friendly and give people the opportunity to participate online as well.

If you are going to use the version of remote meetings, we recommend that you watch the video with quite a few tips and tricks on how to look good in Zoom meetings.

We also wrote about virtual meetings during the corona crisis, when we were still facing ignorance and adaptation to this type of work. Here, in addition to tips for managers for more organized virtual meetings, you can also find some suggestions for workshops, seminars.

Finally, there are “top 7 practices” that lead to more productive meetings and better use of our time. Speaking of time, you can also read the blog with tips on how to manage it.

1. Each invitation to the meeting should contain a clear agenda and the desired outcome of the meeting.
2. If applicable, send preliminary material. Don’t waste time in a meeting by having participants read pre-prepared material that could already be processed.

Tip: Materials, presentation, etc. neither you, the meeting leader, don’t have to read. Send them in advance.

3. Do not take a 30 – minute appointment. Is it possible to do it in 15 minutes? 20? 25?
4. Turn at least a few meetings into phone calls so you can take them while walking. There is no law / rule that every meeting must take place on Zoom, Teams, etc.
5. After the meeting, the leader must ensure that decisions are made and that actions and experts are assigned to them.
6. For “hard” work, block the time in the calendar. Don’t anticipate that this will only happen once all the meetings are over, especially since the meetings are just piling up.
7. Take a 60-second break between appointments to breathe, stretch, or remember what you are grateful for.

I hope the tips will come in handy and allow you to have relaxed, productive and successful meetings. Most important, of course, are your authenticity, energy, desire to succeed, all in all your presence. For even more tips for your performance, read the blog about telling your story and the blog about public speaking.

Best of luck!