What makes a 'good meeting'?

What Constitutes a Good Meeting?

Meetings can be great way to communicate, collaborate, and make decisions, but they can also be a huge waste of time if they’re not run effectively.

So, what makes a good meeting? Here are a few key things to keep in mind:

• Have a clear purpose. What do you want to achieve in the meeting? Once you know your purpose, you can create and share agenda in advance that will help you stay on track. This will give people time to prepare and come to the meeting with their thoughts and ideas.
• Invite the right people. Only invite people who are essential to the meeting. If you have too many people in the room, it will be difficult to have productive discussions. Everyone should feel they need to be there.
• Suitable reports in advance. Brief (one-page or less, appendices if required), targeted, timely (close to meeting, but allows time to read & digest), consistent (ease of creating)
• Start and end on time. Whether it’s short (5-10 minutes) or long (3-4 hours) depends on the purpose. Or whether it’s one meeting or a series.
• Encourage participation. Don’t let one or two people dominate the conversation. One person should control or moderate the meeting to ensure it stays on point and time.
• Set ground rules. This could include things like respecting each other’s opinions, staying on topic, and avoiding side conversations.
• Summarise the key points and next steps at the end of the meeting. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what needs to be done.
• Be somewhere good. Choose a location that suits the group’s needs. Convenience for everyone, pleasant and inspiring surroundings, office or outside strolling if only a few of you, at the office or somewhere away from the office, etc.

By following these tips, you can make your meetings more productive and efficient.