How To Have a Productive Meeting

It is pretty difficult to conduct business without having meetings.  Meetings are essential for the distribution of information, sharing of ideas, and team building. The important thing to remember when scheduling and conducting meetings is to respect the time of the attendees and conduct an effective meeting.

As noted by Michael Wilkinson in his latest book, "The Secrets to Masterful Meetings," a productive meeting is one that has the following characteristics:

1. A clearly defined purpose - State the meeting purpose in the meeting announcement noting any material necessary for a productive meeting.
2. Appropriate attendees are invited- Invite only attendees whose input is necessary for a productive meeting.
3. Start and end on time - Respect the attendees time.
4. Identify the meeting ground rules - Meeting rules are essential to ensure all topics are covered adequately. Consider a 5 minute discussion rule where a topic is sidelined until another meeting after 5 minutes of unproductive discussion.
5. Ensure focused discussions - Use the 5 minute discussion rule to keep the discussions focused. Consider using a meeting facilitator for larger meetings.
6. Meeting recap - Recap the highlights and action items of the meeting noting topics that required consensus.

These simple tips will ensure you have a productive, focused meeting.