6 Critical Ways to Arrange for a Productive Meeting
At Aegis Capital Corp. meetings are a common agenda. No decision can be made without a proper meeting with professionals. Like any business organization, at Aegis Capital, Robert Eide has to organize meetings with clients and other business professionals. He knows the ins and outs of conducting a meeting. He suggests to business executives to get fully prepared before taking or attending any meeting.
Who likes to attend an unorganized and long meeting? People, these days, have plenty of work to do. Attending a clumsy meeting is just a waste of time. Some meetings do not work out because the people organizing it do not have insight towards the desired outcome or goals of the meeting. Others simply don’t work out because the deal isn’t there to be had.
There are certain preparation methods that ensure fruitful meetings. Bad meetings only steal time. Below are 6 techniques to create an effective meeting.
- Determine the Objectives
Most business meetings do not work out because attendees do not understand the objective of the meeting until the last moment. Therefore, an organizer should be able to clearly notify the attendees of the objectives of the meeting before it takes place.
- Know the Attendees
The person organizing a meeting should have some idea about the people at the table, no matter whether it is a conference of 10 people or a one on one meet. You can Google the attendees and check their profile on LinkedIn or Facebook. It will provide a clear idea about who they are.
- Plan an Agenda
Before commencing the meeting, the organizers should be prepared with the agenda to be shared in the meeting. Right at the beginning they should share the agenda with the attendees. Attendees may propose small or even major changes to the agenda that cause the meeting to be more effective. This will cause the meeting to progress much more smoothly.
- Take into Account the Obstacles
Isn’t it better to make preparation for any kind of drama that might crop up in the future rather than to wait for a sudden outburst? Think of the situations which need to be attended to and which ones can be conceded. When an individual is mentally prepared for any kind of unforeseen situations, they can act accordingly and move towards resolution faster.
- Think of Desirable Outcomes
Ensure that every attendee knows the importance of the meeting and its impact on the parties involved. Everyone should be able to understand that the meeting is not only to achieve certain primary objectives but may also be effective for achieving progress towards larger big picture goals. If people do not have a clear idea, then there will be no connection with the outcome and efforts. The end result will be not positive.
- Think of Follow-up Activities
While planning the meeting, consider some time for actions that will take place post meeting. Follow-up and follow-through are essential to make a meeting successful, but many people do not think of it beforehand. Allocating time for different activities after the meeting helps to dedicate time for important efforts.
At Aegis Capital, we believe that these are some crucial thoughts that every business professional should consider before arranging a meeting. Time is of vital importance to every person and one should see that it is not wasted in some unfruitful activity. Be a time saver and not a time waster.