7 Easy Hacks To Make Meetings More Productive

Are you a manager or team leader? Ever wondered why meetings are unpopular? You might be shocked to know that in America, there are 11 million meetings every day!

I still remember groaning along with my coworkers when we were called to another meeting. Everybody felt the same, apart from the CEO who insisted on a weekly meeting which often went on for two hours!

These were compulsory because everybody had to know what each department was doing and what ways we could easily collaborate. There must have been an easier way.

The meeting could have easily been dealt with by sending an email to everybody or by having online task management software installed. Not exactly rocket science!

But some meetings are essential in an organization. So….

Why are meetings so boring and unproductive?

Why can’t meetings motivate workers rather than demoralize them and make them angry, bored and frustrated?

Here are 7 easy hacks to make meetings more productive and motivating.

1. Remember people’s attention span

Do you know why TED talks have been so successful? The answer is that they are never more than 18 minutes long. That is the average length we scan stay focused. Read the article here on LinkedIn if you don’t believe me.

If you have to have longer meetings, build in a break or two.

2. Don’t have a set time for meetings

My coworkers resented the fact that the set schedule of a meeting every week was interfering with their schedules. The secret is to make sure that meetings are called when something needs to be discussed, planned and executed. That often means that meetings will occur when and if needed.

3. Plan meetings for midday

Yes, midday is usually a great time. Why? Because people are hungry by then and they will make a much greater effort to get through it because lunch is calling!

4. Change the setting

Richard Branson is a great believer in having meetings outdoors such as in a park or a café. Innovative settings, he maintains, will lead to more creativity.

There are lots of companies who now have meetings standing up but this may be problematical for some staff members. It will certainly help to keep the meeting from going on too long!

5. Phone free and laptop free meetings are cool

What a relief to get away from your smartphone and laptop. It is almost like a holiday so a smartphone free meeting is a real boost to morale and motivation.

Just a pen and paper will be fine. If there are complicated graphs or stats, they can easily be sent via email before or after the meeting.

There is no need for all this high tech when we have to sit down as humans and not behave like robots!

“When people are staring at their laptops, or worse their phones … it seems disrespectful and it can prevent a quick finish of the meeting.” Rafat Sali, CEO, Skift

The Skift company has a ten-minute limit for one-on-one meetings while they insist on a 25 minute limit for team meetings.

6. Plan the agenda well ahead

If you are a team leader or manager, this is essential. List the points to be discussed, the staff members who will deal with various topics. List the action points which will be decided before the meeting ends and also make sure there is a time limit.

Make sure that all team members have a copy of this well in advance so that they turn up prepared.

7. Run the meeting efficiently

This means sticking to the agenda.

· Make sure that the objective of to-day’s meeting is clear, eg. discuss X and to decide on action points Y & Z.

· Cut off the show-offs and the attention seekers.

· You stick to the time limit.

· You insist on a round up of action points that are agreed and also tagged to the person responsible.

· Make sure this sent to all attendees by email immediately afterwards.

When all is said and done, meetings are not the most important event in a company. We all need time to think and read.

Having time is the most precious thing we have and that is very clear in this short video with Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

“He (Warren Buffett) doesn’t let his calendar get filled up with useless meetings.”– Bill Gates

It is a well-known fact that Bill Gates takes two weeks off in a forest cabin twice a year just to think.

It seems that to me that meetings are highly overrated!