Keeping Your Meeting on Track

At an ideal meeting, everyone would like to be there, contributing productively, and would leave inspired. Unfortunately, most meetings fall far short of these goals. People dread them, they drag on and go off track, leaving participants frustrated or confused. How can we make meetings better?

First, when planning the meeting, only invite the people who really need to be there. Think about the goals and who you need in order to accomplish them. Anyone who is not needed to contribute to this is better off focusing on their own work rather than coming to a meeting.

Consider your goals when planning the meeting time. If something can be discussed in 15 minutes, there doesn't need to be an hour-long meeting scheduled. Evaluate what needs to be accomplished and how long that will reasonably take.

Arrive early to ensure you're on time. Get everything set up and start at the scheduled time. Set an example so others will be on time as well. Many meetings start late and begin on the wrong track because people arrive late or slowly trickle in.

Set the agenda ahead of time and send it out so attendees know what to expect. Strictly follow it and direct the discussion back to the topic at hand if it seems to be going off on a tangent. Any additional topics that come up could be noted down to discuss at a different time.

After the meeting, send out the minutes to everyone right away, and follow up to make sure each person knows what they're responsible for and the actions they need to take in order to accomplish that. This avoids any confusion and keeps everyone on the same page.