Well, as boring as they can be, if important information needs discussing unfortunately sometimes hosting a meeting is the easiest and simplest way to go about making sure everyone is aware. Therefore, instead of putting it off and leaving it until the last minute, why not prepare a few weeks in advance? Getting things prepared so you are completely ready beforehand will make you much more relaxed and will help you to get the information across promptly and efficiently. Therefore, being the meeting hosting experts that we are, Office Monster has put together some of our top tips to help you out.
Have a clear idea as to what the meeting is about
Meetings, sometimes they can seem like the most unproductive, pointless way to spend an afternoon. You sit in the meeting room with 10 other people, clicking through copious amounts of slideshows on a projector, discussing one small subject that could have been covered in a 5 minute email, consuming 5 cups of instant coffee in attempt to stop your head from nodding, only to walk out at the end of the day and not have the faintest idea what was even discussed.
Well, when you host your meeting, this won’t be the case. Knowing exactly who you want to talk to and and what you want to talk about is essential. Therefore having clear and concise points to discuss throughout the meeting will ensure you get all your points across before the meeting has even finished.
Stick to the point
Sometimes in meetings, the person who’s hosting the meeting can go a little off track and before you know it you’re discussing something completely different to what the meeting is actually about. Therefore, when hosting a meeting why not make an effort to stay on track and not tail off, perhaps writing down some bullet points or some notes and always referring back to them should help you to get your point across quickly and efficiently.
Start on time and finish early
There is nothing better than an unexpected early finish, especially in a meeting. Therefore, when you schedule the meeting, deliberately ask for more time than you think you need. Try to start within three minutes of your beginning time. Then, simply end the meeting once you have covered everything you needed to cover because people rarely, if ever, complain about meetings ending early.
Remove any distractions
As much as you won’t want to be a party pooper, you and probably everyone else will want to get through the meeting asap and things such as mobile phones won’t help. Therefore, perhaps making a rule to only check phones on breaks or to leave the meeting room if there is an urgent call to take, so that you can get through your meeting as quick as possible, and so that you can finish early.
