The art of meeting

Image credit: flickr/clagnut

When you spend most of your days sitting in long meetings, it can seem like you’re not making much progress on actual work. We need meetings to communicate with each other, work toward common goals and stay on the same track. That said, some meetings can be boring, unproductive and redundant.

To be a successful meeting leader or attendee, you need to know and respect the rules. In a time when people’s attention spans are short and Blackberrys rule our lives, the following ideas can help you master the meeting.

Leaders: be structured
Before you start, you need to set down rules. These rules are best when they have the highly-organized precision of Robert’s Rules. When attendees know what to expect, there’s a solid foundation from which to work and build. Everyone will be more likely to come prepared and, you hope, bring ideas to the table. Cliché words like “agenda” and “action points” mean results. Think of your meeting as a military operation in a mildly decorated conference room. Seize the day.

Attendees: be engaged
Like cowboys in a saloon, we meeters lay down our Blackberrys on the table as soon as we sit. But when called, we’re quick on the draw. Whoa! Put aside your phone and listen. Get something positive out of the meeting. But more importantly, contribute. This is an opportunity to stand out. Remember: You never know how your performance as an attendee will be remembered by others.

Meetings are a necessity; at their best, they help us achieve our shared goals. Be a meeting master. Or would you rather sit in your fabulous cubicle all day, just you and your monitor?