Set an Agenda
Many businesses shy away from agenda-setting for fear of being too rigid but by setting a step-by-step that lays out everything you want to discuss in the meeting, you’re much more likely to make the most of your time. Allocate space for questions and don’t be concerned about being too obvious – a great agenda should allow everyone to understand the meeting’s objectives. If you need to skip an item, that’s no great hardship – but don’t add anything to the agenda during the meeting or you risk falling into bad habits which are detrimental to your productive potential.
Stick to Your Timings
Don’t let your meetings run on longer than expected. Being respectful of everyone’s time is key to keeping their attention for the duration of the gathering and also ensures they’re engaged in helping to achieve your stated objectives. Setting start and end times also avoids slipping into repetitive and unhelpful discussions, as well as limiting off-topic conversation which can be detrimental to getting through your agenda with ease.
Ask for a Recap
Your time as an SME is limited, and many staff members will likely be working to their own pressing deadlines, so ensuring everyone is on the right tracks before splitting up the gathering makes infinite sense for smaller companies. This is also another way of making sure everyone in the room is sufficiently invested in the meeting’s outcomes, as it will be glaringly obvious if they’ve been coasting on the side-lines hoping not to have to contribute. Ending each meeting by asking each attendee to quickly recap their thoughts helps to clarify whether additional clarification is needed, and helps flag anything which requires addressing in your next meeting.