No lie, this is mapped out in our standard operating procedures. I absolutely hate meetings to have meetings, you can feel the productivity just sucked out of your day.
Meetings are a necessary evil of agency life; however there are ways to run a successful, methodical and short meeting that are beneficial to all parties.
Prior to meeting:
- 2 or 3 days prior to the scheduled meeting, send an email that confirms the date, time, agenda, call-in number or location and meeting attendees.
Day of meeting:
- Send a reminder email, reiterate the agenda and any items needed from meeting attendees.
During the meeting:
- State the purpose of the meeting. Be very clear what the expectations are, indicate the time allotted for the meeting, state the agenda again and then move into the first item.
- Stay on topic. After each agenda item, recap action items and move on.
- Take copious notes throughout the meeting. If there are 2 people in the meeting, have one person take notes while the other person leads the meeting.
- End early. Start wrapping up 15 minutes early by asking if there needs to be additional clarification on any items.
- Excuse yourself. If all else fails, stand up and indicate you have another meeting and need to be on your way.
Follow-up:
- Send meeting notes the same day as the meeting and map out action items. Sending notes the same day, keeps the information fresh in everyone’s mind and ensures nothing is missed.
Meetings are a necessary evil, however there are ways to ensure they stay on time and on topic. Share your tips in the comment section.
