Givememore.com recently completed an online survey of 1600 asking one question: ‘What frustrates you most about meetings at work?’
The top 10 responses were…
- Allowing attendees to ramble and repeat the same comments and thoughts.
- Doesn’t start on time, stay on track, or finish on time.
- No specific action items or walk-away points.
- No clear purpose or objective.
- Not inspiring or motivating.
- Not organised. No agenda.
- Too long.
- Repeating information for late arrivals.
- Weak presenter (unprepared, monotone, not inspiring)
- Boring. Nothing new or interesting.
Meetings are an opportunity. They’re an important part of how we communicate, how we learn, how we encourage, and how we inspire.
If you’re running a meeting…….
Don’t do the things that annoy people (review the list above). Respect your attendees by preparing well, communicating well, and valuing time (our most valuable commodity). Start meeting at an odd time eg; 9.07am vs 9.00am – this will significantly increase the likelihood of all attendees arriving on time. Make it about making them better as a result of the meeting.
If you have ‘energy sappers’ on your team (people who are not happy and conspire to sabotage meetings), don’t invite them if at all possible (but importantly ask yourself why you’re allowing them to be on your team at all!).
If you’re attending a meeting…
100% participation. Be on time. Answer questions and be a part of the discussion where appropriate. Encourage the leader by supporting them, offering your thoughts.
