Hold an Effective Meeting for Any Situation

There are many reasons to hold a meeting. There are many situations that call for it. You may be a manager in your work, you may have a large family or live with a number of roommates, or you may belong to a club or other organization. You may not officially be in charge of the situation or group, but because of the lack of leadership a meeting is called for. Not to fret; there are several tips to hold a successful meeting no matter your situation.

First of all, meetings should be planned. Unless you are the charming and charismatic leader of a religious cult with thousands of brainwashed followers, any speeches or meetings should have some careful thought and structure laid out beforehand.

Make sure that a meeting is necessary. Can what you are trying to convey be done more effectively in private conversations, letters, memos, or email? The biggest deciding factor is if input and/or feedback will be required to sort out any problems or come to a consensus. Also, the heft of the problems will play a part. Meetings will lend more sway to your arguments and points.

Compile a list of who you will require to be present at the meeting. Make sure they have proper notice of the time and place. Do not include anyone who does not pertain to the content of the meeting. If you find yourself wondering if someone should be there, they probably shouldn't. Their presence should have a clearly defined reason.

Take notes of what you would like to talk about or explain at the meeting. Your notes must be concise and relevant. The more to the point, the better. Your meeting should have a theme and objective. Type out your notes with bullet points and numbering so you can review them easily. If appropriate, condense your notes into a brief agenda and hand them out at the beginning of the meeting. The agenda should provide a list of topics, but not be too specific, otherwise you could just hand out the agenda and call off the whole meeting.

Read your notes over several times and practice what you want to say at least twice. Make sure what you are saying is understandable and relevant. Leave appropriate pauses in the meeting for feedback and questions. If you are not taking questions or being open to feedback, again, a meeting may not be necessary. Try to anticipate the responses you will receive from those attending the meeting, but do not overthink the responses because if the actual feedback and questions do not match your anticipations, you will throw yourself off-base.

Once the actual meeting has started, thank everyone for attending. Thank them personally, if the group is small. If more than 15 people are attending, you may thank a select few key attendees and thank the rest as a group. After you thank everyone, complement the group as a whole or personally complement them on some special recent achievements that might have taken place. A short joke will also help alleviate tension before getting to the meat. Speaking of meat, have some refreshments available as well. Nothing messy, as that can distract from attention. Donuts or other sweets and beverages are appropriate.

During the meeting, be sure to include everyone. As stated before, there must be room for discussion of ideas, feedback, and questions. Listen attentively to whoever has the floor and respond truthfully with your opinion or other facts. Give a chance for others to respond as well. If someone has a response that shows you made a mistake, give in to it and admit you are wrong. Give praise whenever possible. If a divisive subject comes up, take a vote. Use the best of democratic methods, but always keep control. Do not let others take over the meeting.

End the meeting with compliments again. Recap what was discussed and the consensus or resolutions that have been reached. After the meeting, write these down and create a written summary. Distribute the summary to all those who attended the meeting. Follow up on the meeting by making sure any measures are being followed.

These tips will help you hold an effective and productive meeting no matter the circumstance. Of course, adjustments must be made depending on the size and seriousness of the meeting, but for the most part, you can't go wrong.