How To Run A Meeting Like A Pro

Meetings are an unavoidable part of the professional world and college life. Most of the time meetings can be somewhat productive, others drag on with uninspired talk and few conclusions reached.    

The key to having more productive meetings lies in careful planning and some guidelines. This can make or break your meeting.

1. Ban all electronic devices from note taking. Apart from the person keeping minutes, no one should have a screen to hide behind. All too often I see someone in a meeting with his or her phone hidden under the desk checking some e-mail or Instagram post that just couldn’t wait. Warn the group to keep their phones away and provide pen and paper when needed. The less distractions the better the productivity of the meeting. 
2. Plan the meeting with actionable steps in mind. All too often people leave meeting thinking they just wasted an hour of their life or thinking that they could of just handled this group project over e-mail which leads to miscommunication and missed deadlines. Ensure that everyone in the meeting has something to do as a result of the meeting and recount what was done at the end of the meeting. 
3. Keep an eye on the clock. Keep track of how much time is spent on one subject at a time. Having time constraints creates a sense of urgency and purpose to the meeting. Keep moving. Start on time and end on time. 
4. Have a solid to-do list and make it visible for all in the room. Keep the agenda short and if you can’t come up with any solid decisions that need to be made, cancel the meeting.
5. Reoccurring meetings should be short and highly structured to avoid the “business as usual” atmosphere. No meeting should be exactly the same.   
6. Write up the minutes of the meetings and e-mail out action items. Appoint someone to keep track of who’s responsible for doing what and by when. This helps people understand that the end of the meeting signals the start of taking action.

These tips are great for a traditional boardroom meeting. If you’re feeling bold, hold a walking meeting to a park or an open and quiet space. This can be a good way to bring energy to an important discussion.

All and all, keep organized and always have purpose to any meeting you attend or host.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Nathan Wilson

Stand Out from the Crowd

During my time at my internship with the National Constitution Center, I've had the opportunity to sit in on several meetings about the launching of our newest exhibit American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. While sitting at these meetings, I can't help but be entertained by all of the goings-on. I feel like I'm at a tennis matching, my head bobbing back and forth to follow the fast-paced comments of everyone in the room. It's easy to see who gets the most floor time, but why is that? In "How to Be a Superstar in Meetings," Bruna Martinuzzi makes the following observations:

Be a front-seater: Be involved; speak up when you have an opinion on a particular topic. Avoid behing a wall flower. The more present you are, the more of a chance you will have to be heard. 

Build on the ideas of others: Pay close attention to what your colleagues are saying. Feel free to take something your colleague just said and add your own perspective. What can you add? What would you change? Do so in a constructive manner and your coworkers will appreciate your willingness to offer your own insight.

Criticize ideas, not people: It's an important professional lesson to never step on the toes of your coworkers. You can offer criticism in a constructive way, without embarrassing anyone. Voice your concerns by asking for clarification and building from there. 

Make positivity your hallmark: Obviously you can't be positive all the time, but strive to be a team player by highlighting what has been working rather than focusing on all of the things that need to be kicked to the curb.

Be brief to be heard: Some of these meetings are only 45 minutes long with a 2 hour agenda. Be brief but concise in what you say so that everyone can get a handle of what you're saying and tackle it while still keeping the meeting moving.

Do you have any other ideas on building rapport during meetings? Let us know!