How to get the best from your meetings23 June 2008

With time at a greater premium than ever, and everyone at pains to optimise every meeting opportunity, so the “science” of how to run an efficient meeting has begun to take on a life of its own. Books have been written, and websites sprung up proffering advice and anecdotes – yet many of these serve only to over-complicate and confuse the issue further.

In an earlier article, we set out the basic organisational requirements to running a successful meeting (http://www.executiveoffices.co.uk/meetings-conferencing/great-meeting-venue-news.asp), complete with a checklist on how to be sure of finding the right venue and support facilities for your needs.

We are now taking the process one step further, by examining how to get the best from your meeting – whether in-house, or off-site, arranged by you or through an outside serviced officer provider – through a range of procedures, and intuitive skills on how to maximise its efficiency.

Management meetings – a way of life

Back in 1 993, a study by the Wharton Center for Applied Research found that senior managers spent an average of 23 hours a week in meetings, with managers spending about 11 hours. Six years later, a further study by Weaver and Farrell stated that the average manager was spending as much as half his/her work time in meetings, with many of the respondents stating that the meetings were unproductive. Yet, over the past few years, in spite of the growing pressures on management time, the frequency of business meetings has continued to rise.

Time is precious

Clearly the business meeting is a vital part of corporate life. But nowadays, we do not have the luxury of staging expensive, time-wasting get-togethers. Time is too precious and the financial impact of failing to make good and timely business decisions is potentially catastrophic.

So if we are to start from this premise, the first rule of thumb must always be to remember that everyone’s time is important (it is not often that you hear people complain that a meeting was too short). Once this philosophy is embedded in the meetings process, the rest of its organisation can follow.

Keep it lean: checklist for managing the efficient meeting

Location:Where are people coming from? What is the best, mutually convenient location?It may be that an in-house meeting is neither locationally nor politically apposite, in which case external venues, such as those offered by the serviced office providers, may be more appropriate
Meeting Rooms: Light, space, seating, layout, access, air-conditioning, noise-levels, and degree of cleanliness are all variables that can have an impact on your meeting.
Equipment: LCD, internet access, and the vast array of presentation equipment from full AV equipment to the flip chart all needs to be planned for.
Agenda: An agenda, circulated prior to the meeting, is vital in allowing participants to prepare appropriately, as well as acting as a route map for what is being discussed, showing how the meeting will develop, and how conclusions/actions will be identified.
Timing: Ideally, strict time boundaries will be set, with an allocated amount of time set against each agenda point. This will keep participants focused, and the meeting moving at a productive pace. This may also be taken a step further, by employing a time-keeper to monitor the meeting.
Seating: Be aware of the group dynamics, in terms of seniority and individuals with particular conflicts, in order that the group can work well as a whole. For example, avoid seating those with conflicting viewpoints opposite each other – as this is very confrontational – and seat them diagonally, or even next to each other, instead.
Reporting: Ensure that whoever has been tasked to minute the meeting fully understands the agenda and the areas of particular importance when reporting.
Scheduling: It is important that the people in the meeting room are scheduled to attend the parts of the meeting that are relevant to them – and no more. This allows the meeting to keep moving forward, and prevents people from having to sit through discussions that they are not involved with.
Sub-meetings: Do not allow “sub-meetings” to develop, ie detailed conversations between a minority of your participants that do not need input or consent from the majority of the group.
Personal standards: Demand high etiquette standards in your meetings. Politeness and focus (mobile phones and blackberries switched off) will result in greater productivity. The MBA Association has a particularly helpful article on business meetings etiquette, at www.mbaassociation.org.
Follow-up: Take a moment at the end of the meeting to go over the key points again with the team and the individual reporting on the meeting.

Reading a meeting – the importance of understanding body language

Currently more of an intuitive skill is the ability to “read” a meeting, although there are growing numbers of advisers, offering extensive help on understanding body language in the business place. The importance of this skill is significant, though, since peoples’ level of interest and the extent to which they agree or disagree with the discussion, are all conveyed subconsciously, through their body language.

Body language comes in many different forms – from the classic “crossed arms” defensive posture to the “eyelid flutter” that may sometimes precede a lie. However, because people react in different ways to different situations, trying to read their body language can present a potential minefield of misunderstanding. For example, direct eye contact may in some cases betray an untruth, while on other occasions, it may convey the exact opposite. Staring, however, is a real “no-no”, since this is generally understood as being overtly aggressive.

Some other basic body language “alerts” that people are likely to encounter in a business meeting include:

BODY LANGUAGE	INTERPRETATION
Leaning back in chair	Very relaxed, and not engaged in the conversation
Hunched over, with hands under the table	May be texting or emailing
Hunched over, scribbling notes	Unlikely to be paying attention to the meeting, because too busy preparing what they’re going to say next
Crossed arms	Defensive, and resentful of attending the meeting
Shifting around	Bored, and unlikely to be paying full attention

Source: www.brazencareerist.com

So in conclusion, with good planning and systems, as well as an understanding of the dynamics and body language of the participants, every meeting ought to have a positive outcome, with actions and objectives clearly agreed, and information quickly disseminated. If ever there was a time for greater focus, it must be now.

Back to news

Our Services

For an in-depth look at our prestigious serviced offices, meeting rooms and virtual offices, select the service you are interested in below.