MAXIMIZING YOUR MEETINGS

Here are some quick tips for facilitating your next meeting:

• For a large meeting (a small meeting will always be less formalized), send out an agenda beforehand, outlining not only what will be covered, point by point, minute by minute, but also any ground rules (no smartphones and so forth).

• Have meetings with individuals before the meeting as a way to gage who will be for you and who will be against you. Here are some good grabbers: “I want to make this meeting worth your while” and “What would you like to see incorporated into the agenda?” 

• The opening statement sets the tone for the meeting so have a strong one ready.

• Try to engage everyone present, whether by citing achievements or areas of expertise or simply directing questions to specific participants. Steve Kyler, Director of IT Solutions, AVI, specifically advises that “Attention spans are limited. Try not to go on for more than ten minutes without having questions or other type of audience interaction.”

• Avoid questions that can be answered by “yes” or “no.” Pose questions that will open a discussion. Instead of “Would this work?” ask “How would this work?”

• Watch the clock. No one likes a meeting to run over—especially into another meeting. You’ll lose people’s attention if they feel like you’re not paying attention to the time—they’ll gladly do it for you. At the expense of listening to anything you have to say.

• Close your mouth. If you’re facilitating the meeting, you should be talking 20 percent of the time; your participants should be talking 80 percent.

• Get the key objectives out there right away in case people try and slip out early.

• As you get to the end, inquire as to whether or not participants found the meeting useful—why and why not—then quickly summarize and wrap up.

Excerpted from Loud and Clear by Karen Berg. Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/wm2tod4