5 clever ways to organise a meeting effectively

"Have a clear objective."

"Keep the mood light."

"Try not to allow a single person to dominate the meeting."

These are some tips that will help you organise productive meetings...

A short meeting in the Conference Room at 5!'

You have spread the word in your team.

But honestly, how prepared are you to hold this meeting in the worthiest way?

Many times leaders fail to communicate the real essence which leads to no good result.

As, I have always believed that failure is only acceptable in small doses because we are playing with somebody else’s money (considering we are here working for someone else), so it gets important that the time is utilised productively.

So, before you go for the meeting at 5 today or any future meetings, make sure you follow these tips

Be ready with the Plan

Without any debate, the first point has to be about being prepared.

Planning has to be there before you call for any meeting.

Not just the meeting agenda, but you should have a good reason to call each and every attendee.

"Meetings need to be purposeful with a clear objective communicated in advance," says Corinne Mills, author of Career Coach.

She says, "This will keep everyone on track and avoid the 'mission creep' that often results from poorly-managed meetings."

Know how to tackle different situations

It shouldn’t be a meeting with one specific person where others play the role of spectator.

It is a quite frustrating situation when a meeting is hijacked upon a specific person which is not of concern to others.

Make sure that you do not divert from the objective of the meeting.

In case, there are any specific clauses or hurdles that you feel can interrupt the agenda of the meeting, then preferably tackle it before calling the meeting.

In Mills own words, "Tackle any sensitive issues or tricky individuals before the meeting takes place, especially if there is a danger that they could derail it."

Be engaging, Be entertaining, Bring in energy

Dull and boring meetings aren't productive too.

With humour and some punches you can actually keep the audience engaging without hampering the focus or discipline.

Always remember that in order to get positive results, you ought to keep the mood light.

Here performance coach David Shindler also suggests that "Don't be opinionated, deal with the issue not the person, be curious, be flexible and bring enthusiasm to the table."

Encourage contributions from attendees

To raise the engagement level of any meeting, you need to ensure contribution of every attendee in any aspect.

You can encourage the attendees to contribute their efforts in shaping the decisions so that they too can feel the importance of their presence in the meeting.

Try not to allow a single person to dominate the meeting.

Instead encourage other members to contribute too and share their perspective.

Keep control

How many times have you attended a meeting that exceeds the pre-defined time?

Doesn't it affect the day’s plan?

To avoid doing that, take control and stick to the plan.

Ensure that you have done all the preparations to end the meeting five minutes prior the defined time.

Photo: Scottish Resilience Development Service/Creative Commons