5 Things you Need for Effective Meetings

Your organization may run on meetings but how effective are they in getting you to where you want to go? If you don’t have these 5 critical components, you may want to re-evaluate.

Preparation

Here’s how ConnectUs manages collaborative agendas

We all know how important preparation is to success. Being prepared is the first step toward success and sets the tone for what comes next. Before meetings, you should have these two things.

• Agenda 

  • You should have topics set up ahead of time to ensure nothing gets forgotten. Agendas keep you on track and if possible try to have a collaborative agenda to keep everyone on the same page. Having a collaborative agenda makes sure everything that needs to be covered is.

• Objective

  • It’s important to have an objective in mind to stay focused. While agenda items guide the discussion your objective ensures focus on accomplishing what needs to be accomplished. Your discussion can be flexible as long as the purpose of the meeting is achieved.

Silence

They say silence is golden and the workplace is no exception. Here are two ways you can use silence to have more effective meetings.

• Listen 

  • Silence is important when others are talking. Listening is vital to effective meetings and when people don’t listen misunderstandings happen. Be silent when others are talking and practice active listening.

• Reflect  

  • Silence gives time for reflection. Giving people the space to process promotes clear communication and invites people to be more purposeful.

Dialogue

You can’t have an effective meeting without communication, especially one that is mutual. 

• Open channels of communication

  • Not everyone has to speak the same amount but each person needs an equal opportunity to communicate.

• Opportunities for each person to be heard.

Common Ground

Too often we focus on our differences, but if we focus on finding common ground, we can improve collaboration and communication. Common ground can be created from non-work-related conversations and helps individuals come together as people before everything else. Set a moment aside before a work discussion to find common ground.

• Provides the stable foundation needed for effective communication.

• Establishes mutual respect.

Notes

Be proactive in your preparation and take notes! Here are three benefits to note-taking and why it is a best practice for effective meetings.

• Follow up

  • Take notes as reminders to follow up on what’s important. This helps you stay connected with important information.

• Documentation

  • Notes ensure that information is tracked. Something that may seem unimportant now may be important later.

• Promotes mindfulness in the present and future

  • Taking notes enables you to be more attentive and better informed for the future.