Get Those Meetings Moving!

Get Those Meetings Moving!
By Arthur Cooper
(c) Copyright 2003

How many times have you been in a meeting that has become bogged down and was going nowhere?

Scores?

Hundreds?

Maybe even thousands, if you have been around a while.

Here are a few tips to help you put some life back into those dreary, stagnant meetings and get things moving again.

1. Make sure you have a proper agenda.

This seems obvious. But a proper agenda not only shows the items for discussion, but allocates a fixed amount of time for discussion of each of those items. This ensures that you keep moving on.

It really is no good just listing the items – you must have the timings as well. If you are in charge of the meeting you can make sure this is done. If you are not, then make sure you ask for such an agenda. Make it clear that your time is valuable and that you have to be gone by a certain time whatever the state of the discussion.

2. Close the meeting immediately if a vital person is missing.

If the object of the meeting is to reach a decision and the key decision maker is absent then it is a waste of everyone’s time to continue. What is the point of discussing the issues at length amongst those who are there if it must all be repeated again later?

Be positive. If you are in charge, stop the meeting immediately and reschedule it for another time. Propose its closure if you are not in charge, giving the reason, and say that in the circumstances you are unable to stay. You won’t be popular in the short term, but in the longer term the others will realise that you were right.

3. Start on time.

Never allow a meeting to start late. Make it clear that you expect punctuality. Once you do this two or three times people will get the message.

4. Prepare.

Arrive well prepared with the facts at your fingertips. That way you can put your case briefly but clearly. If others are less well pepared your views will carry twice as much weight as theirs. Push home your advantage by insisting that decisions are taken based on the views expressed. Call for a vote. You are likely to carry the day.

5. Force the hand of timewasters.

If someone is persistently interrupting or systematically disagreeing with everything that is said, they may just be trying to put off a decision. If they are not contributing anything constructive, force their hand. Insist on your schedule. Tell them they can have five or ten minutes to state their case after which you will call for a vote. Call their bluff in fact.

These are just some of the ways that you can speed up and liven up those time consuming and inconclusive meetings. Put these suggestions into practice and see how you get more positive decisions in a fraction of the time!