Before you decide to have a meeting ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I clearly understand the objectives and outcomes that the meeting will achieve?
• Can this meeting be a phone call, email, or a quick message to get the necessary answers or traction needed?
• Will the right people and right conversations be had in this meeting to ensure decisions are made and objectives are realised?
• Is this meeting likely to be derailed by serial meeting hijackers thus making the meeting unproductive and a waste of everyone ‘s time?

If you positively answered the questions above to indicate a meeting is required, follow the points below to make your next meeting more productive and engaging.

1. Set clear and concise meeting goals and objectives - Define clearly what questions the meeting will answer. In addition, indicate what decisions the meeting will produce, as well as what clarity in strategy the meeting will clarify or define.
2. Circulate the appropriate meeting material aptly before the meeting is scheduled. This will ensure attendees are prepared and spend less time discovering the context and purpose of the meeting while the session is being held.
3. Ensure Key persons (decision authorities, subject matter experts, process stakeholders, etc.) are invited to the meeting to ensure the right conversations and the appropriate context are had. Fewer persons invited to the meeting usually produce more productive and engaging sessions. Ultimately producing the outcomes required by the meeting.
4. Budget check-in time for attendees to arrive and become settled into the meeting. This will ensure minds are calm and the meeting starts with most, if not all attendees present. This will result in less or not catching up time by attendees.
5. Ensure an attendee is identified to keep track of time, as well as to manage any electronic or physical visual aids that will be used in the meeting. This will aid in the smooth transitions and progression of the meeting.
6. Set an agenda with an estimated time for each topic of conversation, as well as the key contributors for that matter. This will be the guide that ensures the meeting is steered in the right direction, right conversations and right outcomes.
7. Ensure the meeting is focused more on collaborations and not mere updates - Make a deliberate attempt to get decisions, answers and collaborations in the meeting that cannot be achieved outside of the meeting.
8. Set ground rules for communication and participation within the meeting. Examples of rules are as follows:
   • No electronic device unless necessary for face-to-face meetings.
   • Cameras on if the meeting is virtual.
   • Set appropriate camera background for virtual attendees.
   • All microphones should be muted unless identified to speak.
   • Always stay focused on topics outlined in the agenda.
   • Only attendees with a hand raised and acknowledged by the host can speak.
9. Use elegant and simple visual aids to better convey ideas, data points, and concepts – Use simple and useful slideshows, videos, illustrations, graphs, dashboards, and any other visualisation forms to aid in the understanding and consumption of ideas and points presented in the meeting. This will drive engagement and foster better collaboration.
10. Ensure all ideas are treated respectfully and equally within the meeting – encourage openness, transparency, and honesty among all attendees to promote the best output for everyone.
11. Create post and in-meeting feedback channels (such as digital surveys, printed feedback forms, in-meeting virtual polls, etc.) to measure how well the meeting is progressing or how well the meeting was conducted.
12. Finish the meeting well with a summary of objectives realised, the next steps, and show gratitude for the persons attending and participating.
13. Encourage communication, collaboration, and co-creation outside the meeting room – this will prove to be useful to ensure progress happens outside of the meeting room.
14. Ensure meeting summaries, follow-up tasks, and meeting objective realisations are shared soon after the meeting – This will improve the likelihood of attendees fulfilling their assigned tasks and responsibilities. In addition, it will preserve the main ideas and points raised in the meeting.
15. Rotate the chair and host of the meeting to gain a diverse perspective, as well as to ensure different point of view can be displayed during the various meeting sessions.

The above points will ensure your next meetings are more impactful, engaging and most of more successful. All the best in your next meeting.