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Poll

Conduct a Better Meeting

Make the meetings you attend more functional and efficient with these 5 steps. 


Surveys indicate that the typical meeting attendee views the meetings they attend as being 2.3 times longer than they should be.  While group discussions are vital to the success of a project, there are ways to make meetings more efficient. 

Inform and remind your team of the purpose of the meeting.  Before you all sit down together remind the group why you are holding a meeting.  This is a simple way to ensure everyone prepares and brings materials that are needed.  Participants are also more likely to stay on topic.

Minimize participants.  Two heads are better than one, but too many heads can be a distraction.   As the number of participants goes up, so does the potential for the meeting to get bogged down.  Invite those that are truly needed to increase efficiency of the meeting, and the office as a whole.   Being forced to sit in on a meeting you aren’t needed in takes away from time you could be productive in other areas. 

Set an agenda and stick to it.  Many meetings get off track because too many issues infiltrate them.  It’s better to list the important topics and devote another meeting to them than to sidetrack the meeting you are already in. 

Record action items and due dates.  Many times meeting discussions are interactive but the results aren’t translated after the meeting.  Meetings should conclude with a description of actions to be taken and when the action item is to be completed. 

Issue a written summary.  This brief account can help those involved refocus on the topics discussed, conclusions reached and actions to be taken. 


Source: www.docstoc.com