20 tips to make your meetings more effective

Our partner Unify has come up with top twenty rapid-fire tips on how to make your group or team more effective and efficient in meetings. So without further ado, here is their advice:

• Routine team meetings should not last longer than 15-20 minutes.
• Video use for all remote participants. Participants feel more engaged while keeping the meeting productive.
• Handle decision topics first and then information updates last.
• Schedule face-to-face meetings effectively (get them all scheduled for the same day if possible).
• Discretely talk to everyone invited to the meeting and plan a solution in advance.
• Propose your solution to the key people prior and suggest a brief conference or web meeting instead to confirm your plan.
• If someone demands a meeting, then schedule it 30 minutes before going home time as an incentive to finish on time.
• Start the meeting with specific goals to accomplish. Close the meeting with action items, owner and due date.
• A hot cup of coffee, agenda, expected meeting results, outcome, contribution.
• Know what the end target or the outcome that needs to be achieved.
• Meetings need an agenda and a scheduled end time to stick to. Avoid side-topics.
• Participants should always prepare themselves ahead of the meeting.
• It only makes sense to join a meeting if you have something to contribute.
• Having a clear agenda and objective, the right people all showing up and contributing, as well as someone chairing to keep on track are all key.
• A successful meeting requires active people. If you are quiet all the time in a meeting, don’t go to the next follow up.
• Nominate a strict time-keeper at the meeting agenda and respect the schedule.
• Most of all, there should be a well-defined purpose that every participant shares.
• Provide agenda, brief presenters in advance, focus on the topic, avoid side discussions, start on time to finish on time, provide short meeting notes.
• Agenda and meeting minutes. Basics but always the right thing to do.
• If there is no clear agenda and no plan to have something done, there is no need to meet.

If you made it to the bottom of the list, then hopefully you came across a handful of ideas or pointers that you can take away to make your next meeting more productive.

You can also check out our range of unified communications that boost collaborative and remote working.