There are some essential steps to ensure you’re ready for a successful meeting. Whether it’s a project planning meeting or an employee performance review, investing the time and effort into your preparation will make the difference between a successful conversation and a wasted one.
Create your agenda and send any reading materials you’d like attendees to read ahead of time. Communication of these materials ahead of time will ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of the event and can contribute effectively. Include these in your invitations or share them through internal comms. Be certain about what you consider an essential read and what you consider good to include.
Be prepared for any obstacles that could be encountered during the meeting, and prepare a plan for how to handle the issues. The delay in bringing up these issues during the meeting could result in many wasted meeting time as everyone struggles to keep up to date on an issue that could have been addressed beforehand.
Don’t forget to set up the system of recording and sharing minutes of meetings and other documentation. Having this in place will ensure that the momentum continues after the meeting and ensure all participants are clear on what was discussed and agreed on in the meeting.
Finally, make sure you have a list of the key takeaways that will help everyone leave the meeting confident about what the next steps are for moving the discussion or moving forward. This is a great way to close the meeting and make everyone feel secure that they are part of an integrated team that is able to meet the goals.