Two simple ways to make your meetings shorter and better:
- Change the title to ‘Meeting to agree (insert outcome)’
- Reduce the duration by a third
For example, if you have a one-hour meeting called ‘Project 12 update’:
- Change the title to ‘Meeting to agree next month’s priorities for Project 12’
- Reduce the duration by a third – so the meeting is now 40 minutes long
Why this works:
- Knowing the outcome upfront – and stating it in the meeting’s title – means everyone turns-up, knowing the outcome we all want. Which means we’ll get there more quickly
- Shortening the meeting is good psychologically. Everyone loves shorter meetings. But it also means people are more focused: they know they need to act and decide quickly, because of the shorter timeframe
- This approach stands out. Most people bang in a meeting called ‘Catch-up’ for 60 minutes or ‘Update’ for 30 minutes. So, this new approach is a beautiful oasis in a desert of rubbish!
There are obviously other things you need to do, to make meetings work well – invite the right people, have a clear agenda, ensure you end with actions, encourage group involvement, etc. etc. But, as a bare minimum, changing your first impression (title) and limiting the time is a great start.
PLEASE DO THIS! The potential time savings are huge. Imagine if you could reduce the time you spent in meetings by a third. Your 30 hours of long meetings becomes 20 hours of more punchy meetings. That is life-changing stuff.
Action Point
You can do this approach with many of your meetings – not all of them, of course.
So, for the ones you can do it with, do it. You’ll save yourself – and your colleagues – many hours of listening to Updates, Catch-ups and Any Other Business!
And, if you want me to help improve your communications, please hit Reply and let me know…