by Dan Monaghan

Created on: December 02, 2008   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

Talk to any employee in any business about their top time wasters and inevitably the word "meeting" will come up. On paper, meetings make sense. We have something to say, we call people together, the information is delivered and we are all the better for it. Unfortunately, the execution of meetings often falls short of expectations and, as a result, we loathe attending. It doesn't have to be this way. If you follow a few simple rules, meetings can be productive, invigorating and even fun.

1- KEEP IT SHORT- The average person loses interest in almost everything in 45 minutes. Therefore, most meetings should be scheduled for no longer than an hour. If you have items left to discuss, schedule another meeting. If you finish early, let them go! Once you go over your announced finishing time, people stop paying attention to you and start thinking about what they could be doing. And by the way, start on time, too. Once people know that you start late, they will be showing up whenever they feel like it. Not the way to control your meeting.

2- HAVE AN AGENDA AND STICK TO IT- The agenda should be in writing and should be distributed at least a few days before the meeting. If you spring an agenda on people when they enter the room, they have no time to prepare questions or comments on the topics. If you pass it out too early(over a week before), it gets lost and the result is they still won't be able to prepare.

3- LIMIT ATTENDANCE- The best meetings are interactive. Too many people can intimidate participants. The absolute worst thing that can happen in a meeting is when people leave the room without asking a question or making a comment. The fact is many people are shy in front of large groups and they will not speak for fear of sounding silly and being laughed at. The ideal size for a comfortable meeting is 10-15. Anything above that and you run the risk of intimidating the participants.

4- DEMAND PARTICIPATION- Ask direct questions. Break them into groups to discuss the hot topics. Assign agenda topics to participants for them to lead the discussion. People want to be involved. They don't want to be dictated to. Make them feel a part of the process and they will gladly participate. If you cultivate the reputation of someone who truly cares about the opinions of his reports, meetings will be much more productive.

5- IS IT NECESSARY?- Do not make meetings your default communication tool. Oftentimes a phone call, a memo or a face to face visit can suffice. Meetings should be reserved for the following: To make a group decision, to solve a problem or to give out new or potentially confusing information. Anything else can probably be communicated in another way.

Meetings are much more than a group of people in a room talking. Effective meetings demand planning, interaction and goals. With just a little effort, people will look forward to your meetings with anticipation, not dread.

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