How to Avoid Wasting Time in a Business Meeting

So much to do, so little time. And yet, we waste a lot of that precious time sitting around large conference room tables, talking about the same thing over and over again. Business meetings can be very productive. Yet, it seems in a lot of cases too many hours are wasted here. Then, people walk away exhausted and frustrated, instead of feeling motivated. There are some pretty easy ways to remedy this. The following steps will help you structure a timely and productive meeting, that will not inhibit or slow down the daily function of your business or organization.

Instructions

1. Determine how often these meetings have to happen in order to achieve your goal. Some businesses need one every day, such as a TV Newsroom where the potential stories of the day must be discussed. However, other companies can easily accomplish goals by meeting bi-weekly, or once a month. Set a regular meeting schedule, so everyone knows how to plan around this. If a last minute meeting is completely necessary to deal with a crisis or some other emergency situation, of course that is understood.

2. Appoint someone to act as moderator. This can be a different person every meeting. And, actually, it is good for morale in the workplace to allow everyone to have their "turn". The moderator simply controls the pace, much like what you see in a political debate. During business meetings, many people tend to get to the point where they simply like to hear themselves talk. That must be controlled. The subject at hand is brought to the table. Then everyone has a certain amount of time to give input. Usually just a couple of minutes. Then its time to move on to the next person.

3. Put together a meeting outline in advance so everyone can review it. The head of the department, or whomever is calling the meeting should do this. This way, everyone attending has a chance to prepare their comments and input. When people arrive completely unprepared for the subject at hand, there tends to be a lot of wasted time going around the table.

4. Avoid serving food during business meetings. Many times people plan these at lunchtime, so a lot of time is wasted with people focusing on food and not on the subject at hand. A late morning meeting is advised because people have had time to settle into work, but are still fresh starting their day. 10AM is a good time. Then offer lunch or a snack afterward as a kind of "reward".

5. End the meeting on a positive note. You don't want people feeling frustrated. However, this will inevitably happen at times, which can lead to a lengthy "gripe session". So, as manager or moderator of the meeting, as you wrap up, encourage those who have further input to please set a time to talk more with you. This way everyone else can get on with their work, and further conversation can be held behind closed doors as necessary.