2 Proven Ways to Make Your Meetings More Effective

And Three Other Promising Ones That I’m Trying Out

One of my resolutions for 2021 was to increase the quality of my online meetings. We’re past mid-year now, and it’s a good time to check my progress.

Ever felt like this?

What worked so far

Outcome
Make no exceptions: when you organize a meeting, always take the time to formulate the desired outcome, possibly a deliverable, and write it in the invitation:

• it gives a clear sense of purpose to all participants;
• it gives them a chance to assess my decision to invite them, eventually challenge it and propose somebody else to participate in their place, or simply extend the invitation to other participants whose importance or relevance was not clear for me;
• if the invitation is forwarded, new participants will receive my original message — and not just the one mediated by the colleague who forwarded it.

Live meeting minutes
Writing down the minutes on the screen, in front of other participants, is the best way to
- make sure that there is a clear, shared statement about the important things that are said or decided;
- close the meeting and move on to the next thing, without being left with the annoying follow-up…