How to Hold Short, Productive Meetings That Your Team Won’t Dread
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The result of ineffective meetings is low morale and wasted resources for your business. Luckily, there are a few ways to make meetings productive that will mean your employees look forward rather than dreading them.

Here are 3 simple tips from to ensure your meetings remain productive, stick to the point, and don’t waffle on for hours, using more of everyone’s precious working time:

1. Preparation is key

Assembling a group of colleagues in a room with no meeting agenda and expecting them to contribute and discuss points of interest in a succinct manner will probably never happen. Not only the person who proposed the meeting should bring an agenda, rather, every attendee should come prepared with relevant reports and opinions on topics relevant to the topic in hand.

Plan to share the meeting date, time, and points of discussion at least 2 days prior to the meeting schedule, making sure to include a draft agenda. This is necessary to have successful outcomes to your meetings. Additionally, having a clear set of rules that define the role each attendee must fill in meetings including the amount of time spent on each point will avoid waffling or irrelevant points.

2. Maintain a structure throughout

Provide each attendee with a copy of the agenda at the start of the meeting, allowing each individual a certain amount of time to discuss present, or respond to allow everyone to feel they have effectively contributed. Call time to maintain order and avoid confusion. Hosting a meeting is all about productivity, the aim of the meeting should always be to accomplish something specific.

3. Keep the meetings short and sweet

Holding shorter meetings on a more frequent basis are likely to save your company money long-term. Regular 30-minute meetings boost productivity and no one feels their time is wasted. If team members share a physical work space, regular meetings encourage good communication between employees.

Properly structured meetings don’t have to be a hindrance, and can actually improve morale. Employees tend to thrive knowing they have completed a task or moved the project forward. It is essential that the meeting host encourages attendees to feel a sense of accomplishment, using the above points will help to establish and maintain positive growth for all parties involved in meetings.