How to improve effectiveness of meetings?

What suggestions do people have for improving the effectiveness of meetings? Let’s check it out.

In my last post I outlined the reasons why people think the meetings they attend are in/effective. Let’s now look at what they suggest can be done to improve the effectiveness of meetings. Who knows, maybe in these recommendations you’ll find an alternative to canceling most internal meetings like they did at Shopify.

The list below is again based on Geimer et al.’s 2015 paper “Meetings at work: Perceived effectiveness and recommended improvements”.

PEOPLE SIDE: 👉 Come prepared 👉 Arrive on time 👉 Open to change 👉 Actively listen to what others are saying 👉 Display professionalism during the meeting

MEETING STRUCTURE & ORGANIZATION SIDE: 👉 Distribute appropriate information via e-mail instead of in meeting 👉 Allow time to prepare for meetings 👉 Provide meaningful agenda 👉 Clarify plan of action 👉 Use or rotate a facilitator/chair 👉 Invite appropriate attendees 👉 Pay attention to timing limit, start/end on time 👉 Shorten meetings 👉 Hold meetings at appropriate intervals & meet only when necessary 👉 Make the meeting environment more comfortable

MEETING ACTIVITIES SIDE: 👉 Make meetings more interactive & seek input from all attendees 👉 Stay focused on the topic 👉 Prioritize items 👉 Break into smaller groups (brainstorming, etc.) 👉 Delegate responsibilities and set deadlines for assigned tasks

MEETING OUTCOMES SIDE: 👉 Record and distribute meeting minutes 👉 Follow up with proposed solutions

Is there anything that you think is missing in the list, especially in the context of the fact that since 2015 the workplaces have been operating more in remote/hybrid mode?