4 Ways to Host More Productive Meetings

Some meetings are amazing—you brainstorm ideas, figure out a solution to a complex problem, nail down next steps on a project—you know, the kind where you actually get stuff done.

Then there are those meetings that you immediately regret attending: the ones that lack objective, quickly steer off topic… and while you might get some good laughs in, you leave with little to no idea on what your next move should be.

Hosting a productive meeting can be a daunting task, especially when some team members are onsite while others are joining remotely, but don’t worry, we’re here to help!

Here are four tips to help you become the ultimate meeting host:

1. Invite the people who actually need to be there.

It’s really a numbers game. The more attendees you invite, the greater chance the meeting goes off topic, and the less work you actually get done. More often than not, hosts invite multiple team members to their meeting, when in reality, they can invite one person and have them relay the meeting details to the rest of their team.

2. Create an agenda—and stick to it.

Starting a meeting on time and following a detailed meeting agenda can reduce meeting times up to 80%¹. By sending out a meeting agenda with your invite, not only do you give yourself an outline to stick to, but you also give attendees the chance to actually prepare for the meeting.

3. Engage attendees, especially the remote ones.

Did you know? 80% of messages we receive come from body language—something that is hard to pick up when you’re dialed in on the phone². The next time you host a meeting with remote attendees, make sure to flip on the video camera (and wave to your teammates!).

Screen sharing is another great way to engage in-house and remote teammates—whether it’s a PowerPoint presentation, Excel doc, of even a fun video, share your screen to give context to your meetings and make sure everyone is on the same page.

4. Follow up, fast.

A lot goes on in a meeting–ideas are thrown around, next steps are established, and project owners are decided on. With so many key decisions happening all at once, we recommend tapping into a feature like Notes. With Notes, you can actively take notes on decisions made, and AnyMeeting will automatically send those notes to attendees after the meeting had ended.

Sources:

Mark Sher

Mark Sher, a 30-year telecom and cloud communications executive, is the SVP of Product Marketing for Intermedia Cloud Communications, a leading provider of UCaaS, CCaaS, and business cloud application solutions to partners and the businesses they serve. In his role, Mark has global responsibility for all direct and indirect product marketing at Intermedia including product launches, product messaging and positioning, competitive intelligence, analyst relations, and cross-channel pricing.