Whether you’re hosting or participating, make meetings less boring with the goal of finishing ahead of schedule.
For Inc.
Photo: Getty Images
Despite our best intentions to prepare, most of us start thinking about the next meeting when the reminder goes off or right as we’re joining, either virtually or in person. Most executives are booked back-to-back, leaving little time to think and set their intentions for what they want out of the next conversation.
Meetings get a bad rap because most of us show up cold.
Create a habit of using the five minutes before meetings to make the most out of the next 15, 30, or 60 minutes of your work life.
Review the agenda, if provided. If not, review notes from the last call. Don’t have either? That’s not uncommon, but just jog your memory on why this meeting was called to begin with. Make sure you are clear about the purpose before you join, so you don’t have to ask the other participants.
4 minutes to go
Decide what you need to know, need to share, and want to leave with. Jot a short list for yourself of any key pieces of information you’ll need to make a decision. Plan to share any data, observations, or insights that constructively contribute to shaping the conversation. And think about what you want. Do you want a decision? Do you want to delegate something? Do you want a status update? Given that, what exactly will you take away? This always includes an agreement among participants on 1) the next steps for the project or issue at hand, and 2) immediate next actions for everyone on the call. If someone isn’t given any actions, they don’t need to participate in future conversations.
