Here are tips for holding a successful business meeting

The key to having a successful business meeting, whether remote or in-person, is good management. Meetings allow for clear communication and effective decision-making. However, meetings often take longer than they should, making it difficult to maintain attendees’ attention.

Here are the most important tips to follow for holding and managing a successful work meeting:

Define the purpose

First and foremost, you should define the purpose of the meeting. Your goal must be specific and measurable. If you expect attendees to brainstorm, ask them to prepare a list of ideas they want to discuss beforehand.

Ask yourself: Is the meeting really necessary?

Meetings can be costly, and to calculate the exact cost, you need to multiply the hourly rate of each attendee by the meeting time. If you can achieve your goal through email, group video calls, or even quick one-on-one discussions, skip the meeting.

Invite decision-makers

We recommend involving stakeholders in meetings to make them more effective and ensure immediate decision-making. If the main decision-maker is unavailable, ask one of their assistants to attend. Ideally, this person will be able to speak on behalf of their supervisor or at least take notes and report back to them.

Schedule strategically

If you want to capture everyone’s attention, avoid scheduling the meeting first thing Monday morning when everyone is busy checking email. Also, avoid scheduling it late Friday afternoon when employees are tired and looking forward to the weekend. Schedule the meeting on the right day and time so that everyone is mentally present.

Set and stick to a time limit

Meetings that last for hours make attendees lose their patience and focus, as attention spans are short and time is precious. The most productive meetings start and end on time.

Prioritizing

The most important topics should not be discussed at the end of the meeting, but rather from the beginning to ensure that the highest priority objectives are met. This way, if someone needs to leave the meeting early, you will ensure that your main goals are achieved.

Stick to the agenda to ensure a successful business meeting

The agenda is a plan to ensure that everyone is on the same page with the topic and maintains the smooth running of the meeting. For this reason, the agenda should be kept to one page and should not contain anything other than the main topics.

If the participants insist on raising other issues, intervene and suggest they discuss it after the meeting or schedule a separate discussion, then promptly return to the main topic.

Conveying Concepts

When presenting core concepts or new ideas to a group, especially models that are difficult to understand, explain to them why it is necessary to take them into consideration, provide a framework for the problem by telling a brief story, and use examples.

End the meeting clearly

At the end of the meeting, reaffirm any decisions or deadlines and clarify any required follow-up actions. All meeting participants must understand exactly what is expected of them, and be sure to schedule any follow-up meetings immediately.

Communicate with an appropriate meeting organizing company

Agreeing with an appropriate meeting organizing company provides you with convenience in a variety of basics. It ensures the availability of important technical tools such as a projector and sound systems. It also saves you the trouble of providing hospitality supplies.

Evaluate your meetings:

Conducting meetings effectively is both an art and a science, and it is important to regularly review meeting performance. At the end of each day, ask yourself questions about your meetings:

• Did your meetings achieve their goals?
• What went well in your meetings?
• What can be improved?