How to run a successful meeting

Some of these may be obvious but here are some tips to running a successful meeting

1. Be clear on objectives

   We have all gone to those meetings that took hours of your day and you walked away unsure of what the point was. Make sure you define the objective at the beginning of the meeting and re-visit before the meeting ends. This can be as simple as "during this meeting I would like to get an understanding of the traffic on the website and what are the quick wins to achieving a higher conversion rate". 
   
   

2. Get the right people

   This doesn't always mean getting the most senior people in the room, it means getting people who are relevant. This may include the key project teams and/or stakeholders.
   
   

3. Make an agenda

   Using a template set out the agenda and the attendees. This will ensure the meeting doesn't go off track and will allow you to keep a record of responsibilities.
   
   

4. Sometimes you need a pre-meeting meeting

   Make sure you meet with your team before the client comes in. You don't want to be having internal conversations in front of the client, it will only make you look unprofessional.
   
   

5. Get comfortable

   There is nothing worse than sitting in a boiling hot room with no water. People will be shuffling around and dreaming of when they can leave the room. If you want people to concentrate then make them comfortable, offer tea, coffee and (if its after 4pm then wine!)
   
   

6. Don't run over

   Everyone has things to do so make sure the meeting ends when you say it will. Have respect for other peoples calendar. 

 

And finally a picture of a Bulldog for the people: