The Best Ways to Keep Meetings Running Like Clockwork

Ah, meetings! The bane of our existence. We’ve all suffered through unproductive, time sucking gatherings that make us want to pull our hair out. But what if I told you there was a way to run meetings that people don’t dread but actually look forward to attending. With the right approach, meetings can be a breath of fresh air, leaving everyone feeling energized and productive.

Here’s how to make it happen when you’re the meeting leader:

Before The Meeting:

Before you send that meeting invite, do a gut check. Ask yourself: Is it really worth everyone’s time and energy or could this be handled through an email? If it requires face-to-face time, give a clear and compelling reason, and describe the purpose– is it to decide something, brainstorm, agree on a plan? But if you’re just looking to share information or provide an update, save everyone’s time by sharing as much as possible in advance. That way, you can focus your meeting on what really matters: discussion, debate and taking action.

During the Meeting:

Once the meeting starts, it’s all about using the time wisely.

Set limits. Manage the time by announcing “One more comment before we move on or two minutes left.”

Keep a parking lot. If you are off track because people are talking about topics that aren’t relevant to the meeting or issues can’t be solved in the moment, start a “parking lot”. Take note of those topics to return to at the end of the meeting. Doing this helps people let go and move on - and often by the end of the meeting, people don’t feel a need to address them at all.

Shorten agenda topics: If you are really behind time, you need a bigger intervention. If extending the meeting isn’t an option, offer a briefer overview of content or shorten segments.

Revise the agenda in the moment: If there’s a lot of energy around a topic that wasn’t anticipated, it might be important enough to restructure the meeting on the spot. Be transparent and get people’s agreement. For instance, “It seems important that we stay on this topic. To give more time to this, we’ll need to [shorten the break, extend the meeting time, hold off on other topics, etc.]. Can we all agree to that?”

After the Meeting

The end is just the beginning. People’s memories fade fast. Create (or assign someone) to create a summary of action items, owners, and deliverables and send it out quickly. Confirm that this captures everyone’s understanding. It’s better to know at this early stage if people have a different recollection or if something has changed. Whether you own some action items or your work with the group is done, you’ll continue to add value by creating a glide path for progress.

There you have it - some practical ways to make people cheer (or at least not groan) when they see a meeting invite from you!