Tips to Make Business Meetings More Productive

by | Last updated Oct 18, 2022 | Published on Jul 23, 2019 | Business Transcription

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Meetings are organized and conducted in almost all business establishments to make informed decisions and to address concerns. Meetings are a platform to deliver knowledge and information and discuss crucial issues and team projects. All crucial decisions taken during a meeting can be recorded and transcribed into accurate notes for future reference with the help of business transcription services.

Some organizations hold regular and scheduled meetings as a part of the routine work. It is one of the ways to keep employees informed about latest work matters and to keep track of individual and team progress through a healthy discussion. However, many employees consider meetings as a complete waste of time.

Tips to Make Business Meetings More Productive

According to research, the main reason for ineffective meetings is that it is usually scheduled on the worst day of the week. According to Lynn Taylor, author of “Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job,” employees are the most productive on Monday mornings. So, it is better not to disturb them on these productive days. Similarly, most employees tend step out on office on Mondays. So conducting meeting on Mondays will probably end up in a no show. The best time to conduct meetings is on Tuesdays at 2.30 pm, according to a study conducted by U.K.-based scheduling firm YouCanBookMe. The team analyzed data from around two million responses to 530,000 meeting invitations to arrive at this conclusion.

Time is precious for business meetings, and this is why business leaders and CEOs use the BLUF approach (bottom line up front) to conduct meetings. This approach focuses on what needs to be done, who is going to do it, and by when.

Here are some tips for a productive meeting:

  • Determine which category meeting are you conducting: There are four:
    • Informational: This type of meeting is used to make announcements or keep the team updated on a topic. The purpose is to ensure that everyone is one the same page.
    • Decision taking: This session is about figuring out what actions everyone should take. It would be effective for a small group of three to five people.
    • Discovery: This type of meeting is ideal for discussing problem and potential solutions.
    • Brainstorming: This is a creative session where people go out of their comfort zone, routines and habits. This is an effective option to tap the creativity of a limited number of people for a large number of ideas.
  • Keep a 45 minute rule: Half an hour is not enough for a meeting as you tend to spend the first few minutes settling down and making small talk. Meeting for an hour can be boring. So the ideal duration for meeting in 45 minutes. This time span is idea to discuss problems. Look for solutions that are 80 percent right and 100 percent executable versus the other way around.
  • Begin with a purpose and end with action: Every meeting should begin with what the expectations are and what needs to be accomplished (BLUF approach). Similarly, at the end of the meeting everyone must know what is expected of them and by when.
  • Distribute prep materials before the meeting: If you have prep materials, make sure that you provide them a few days before the meeting. Going through the prep materials a few minutes before the meeting is a waste of time.

Meetings are very essential to the success of an organization. Crucial decisions are made during a meeting and effective scheduling and planning will make it productive. A reliable outsourcing company can provide accurate meetings transcription which will serve as a record for future reference.

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