One of my coaching clients recently invited his team to a meeting by saying this…
“Right, you lot. We need a swift decision on whether we do Project X or not. So we’re getting together at 10am tomorrow for ten minutes. Bring your ideas why we should or shouldn’t do it. By 10.10am, we’ll have agreed if we’re doing it or not.”
What a brilliant invitation to a meeting!
- It was clear what the outcome was, and that it’d definitely happen
- It was scheduled for ten minutes, not the obligatory one hour
- Everyone knew their pre-work
- There were no wishy-washy words you often see on agendas – “discuss”, “update” etc
- I even liked that he didn’t say the word “meeting”…
- … And that it began with “right, you lot”!
Best of all? They met at 10am. They made their decision in seven minutes. A great result!
Your invites are the critical First Impression you give for your meetings. How good are yours?
Action Point
Improve your meeting invites, so people know what the outcome is, and why they should attend. You’ll get more buy-in when you do (and none if you don’t!)
And for more tips on how to master this, and other critical techniques, there are hundreds more here: www.andyboundsonline.com.