Meetings aren’t the best thing ever. We know. But there are a few simple questions you can ask yourself before scheduling a meeting to prevent it from heading straight for a dead end of lost time and youth.
1. Is this meeting necessary or would an email suffice?
Scheduling a meeting seems to be the most effective way of getting things done, but sometimes sending an email or making a phone call is the best way to go about things. If you still need to schedule a meeting, there’s still time.
2. Does everyone need to be there?
Think long and hard about this one. Inviting too many people to the meeting will slow it down and decrease your chances of getting things done. Too many people, too many opinions — time wasted. Invite only the people who absolutely need to be there and send an email to the ones you only need to add their 5 cents after the heavy lifting is done.
3. Does the meeting have a clear agenda?
Come to think of it, this should be no. 1. Don’t schedule a meeting, or start it for that matter, if you only kind of have the idea of what the meeting is about. Clearing that up for yourself and for the people at the meeting will streamline the whole meeting. If you’re talking in circles and nobody really knows what the goal is, people will get frustrated and you won’t be achieving anything. Happy people, better productivity.
4. Does it provide concrete action steps?
The main point of meetings is to decide future goals. Without setting concrete tasks for people to take after the meeting, the meeting is useless. Be sure everyone knows what they are supposed to do after the meeting is finished and follow up with them if necessary.
5. How will we know when the meeting is over?
Meetings can go long, which means it is absolutely necessary not to overload the meeting with a bunch of action items. Identify 1 and up to 3 main issues you want to work on and decide beforehand when to call it quits. “There is no particular reason that meetings should run for one hour or even longer,” says David, Marketing Manager at Microsoft. If the giants are saying it, think about the previous 4 questions and cut it short.
Here’s a nice graphic for you to stick on your wall somewhere to remind you of these things before you hit “Send” on your next meeting invite.
