Meetings
Few things annoy office workers more than unnecessary and unproductive meetings, surveys find. People wander off topic, send texts instead of listening, and behave in all sorts of dysfunctional ways. Keep your team meetings on task by adopting a few techniques.
Nowadays, executives more often are meeting virtually, through instant messaging, video chat and other tools. Here’s how to organize a virtual meeting, and prepare participants to get the most out of the session.
If someone calls to reschedule an appointment, suggest the same day and time one week later.
Not all executives are content to have access to documents only on their smartphones, tablets or laptops. If you work for a boss who still depends heavily on paper and attends up to a dozen meetings a day, here’s an organizing solution for you.
You’re on your way to a meeting or you’re in the middle of a project that requires your focus, when someone tells you something important. “Got it!” you say. Later, though, you realize you weren’t fully tuned in. Consider what sort of listener you are, and then heed these tips:
Affirm your credibility in a meeting with these five tactics:
If you struggle with coordinating electronic schedules with people who use different tools for scheduling, Tungle might offer a solution.
When the meeting participants are mostly VIPs, scheduling can be a hairy process, says executive assistant Trisha Heil. Currently, she offers attendees a basic date-filled chart, so they can narrow down the choices to a mutually convenient time and date. But what do other admins do?
Defer judgment … The more ideas the better … Bosses, don’t hijack the discussion. These are among the top rules of a productive brainstorming session. Before a team even begins the meeting, though, be sure to set up the room for maximum effectiveness:
Creating meeting agendas just got a lot easier with MeetingMix, online software that helps set agendas and track minutes.
One way you can help team meetings run more smoothly is to make sure attendees come to any meeting ready to engage. Try these two tips from Al Pittampalli, author of Read This Before Our Next Meeting:
When you’re working with a virtual team scattered across locations, foster unity with these steps: 1. Make messages “location-neutral.” 2. Share success. 3. Don’t waste meeting time during rare face-to-face gatherings.
When you’re planning a day-long meeting, having the right food and beverages keeps attendees’ minds sharp. But those costs can add up. Here’s savvy advice on appeasing attendees’ palates while trimming your meal budget:
