Making decisions in meetings is never easy. After all you’re talking about human beings, and human beings are complex.
It’s no wonder meetings can seem to drag on indefinitely. What seems like a simple goal becomes more tricky the deeper you delve.
What’s needed is an efficient, incisive methodology to get you in and out of that meeting room as quickly as possible – without compromising on the attention you’re paying each individual. As it happens, becoming more efficient can actually help you make better decisions.
So what does an efficient meeting look like? Clue: it starts with an efficient agenda.
Each item will come with it’s own time limit, active question, and aim or ideal outcome. You’ll write your agenda as economically as possible with short, active sentences, questions, and bullet points.
That way, everyone knows the parameters of the meeting, and can refer to their agenda during discussion without zoning out of what’s being said.
Spreading the workload can also help you become more efficient. Give each item a ‘leader’ and they will do the background work – allowing you to concentrate on your area. It also gives your voice a rest and saves your energy sagging and dragging the whole meeting down when you’re only halfway through.
Business Backer’s new visual guide explains just how this might work – and contains more ideas on what you can do to cut those meetings in half.
An hour spent redesigning your meeting process today will save you countless hours in the future.
Author
Paul Slezak
With over two decades of experience in the recruitment and human capital industry, Paul Slezak has established himself as a transformative force in the realm of leadership and career coaching, group facilitation, and talent acquisition. His unique perspective, drawn from his early career as a leader in global recruitment firms and his entrepreneurial success with his own start-up, has enabled him to make a significant impact on leaders, teams, and organizations across the world. Paul's passion for helping others achieve success and high performance is evident in his commitment to transforming leaders and their teams at local, national, and international levels. He specializes in promoting the importance of human-centered intelligence, focusing on soft skills such as authenticity, transparency, and trust to complement business-centered acumen and drive better workplace outcomes. As an impartial facilitator, Paul brings his expertise to team offsites and strategy days, ensuring alignment on goals, values, and culture while keeping participants on task. His engaging and energetic presence, coupled with his unique "entertraining" and "edutaining" delivery style, enables him to connect with audiences both large and intimate, sharing personal and professional anecdotes that inspire and energize.
