Part 2: Running Short and Effective Meetings

Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on August 13, 2019. It has been updated.

Effective meetings need a disciplined approach to be efficient. The second installment of our three-part series about meetings focuses on streamlining the event itself. Check out the first article, Avoiding Meeting Misery, if you missed it.

Next Steps:

Be punctual: Respect the time and effort of those that show up on time. Don’t delay the meeting due to the tardiness of other attendees (and don’t waste time updating latecomers).

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for the complete guide to maximizing efficiency and minimizing wasted time.

Keep on track: Keep everyone focused on the agenda. If unrelated discussion topics arise, get them back on track – rambling, non-relevant discussions are disruptive, and impact work-flow. Provide a quick summary after each agenda topic, confirm everyone agrees that it’s accurate, and then move on.
Stay on schedule: End the meeting on time. If it’s running behind, push for a decision, table the discussion, or schedule a separate meeting on that topic.

Remember, effective meetings accomplish their objectives in a minimum amount of time.