Timekeeping during meetings is essential. Everybody avoids meetings that drag on with little too regard of time, and this can mean that no one will show up for meetings. Long meetings tend to get irritating, and when this happens, it gets hard to pay attention to what you’re saying. It is crucial for any leader that is having meetings to try ad keep them as short as possible. Here are a few tips that can help you in managing your time during meetings.
Set Time Slots For Specific Agendas
Do not just write down the agendas and talk your way through each. You may find yourself overlapping, which is why it is advisable to allocate each agenda an amount of time to go through it. This way, you can stay on one topic for a given amount of time before moving on to the next agenda. Go through your notes before the meeting and determine how you will manage each topic. In addition to that, ensure that your agendas are realistic. This means that they are topics that must be discussed in a meeting. If it’s something that can be communicated through an email, then it is much better to go in that direction.
Be On-Time
Be a good leader by setting an example and showing up on time. Start the meeting at the said time, even when some of the participants are unavailable. On good tip to use is to start the meeting a few minutes after the top of the hour, say 8.10 am instead of 8.00 am. It usually sends the message that you believe that time is of the essence.
Have A Timekeeper
It does to have to be the same person all the time, you can give the role to a different employee during a different meeting. This shows that you take the meetings, as well as your time, seriously.
The Participants Should Keep Time
If the meeting has different people addressing the group, then ensure the participants keep time. If you’re having a conference call, make use of the # button. This ensures that the meeting does to focus on some participants too much while ignoring others or giving them less time to speak. The best part about the # button is that whoever presses the button remains anonymous.
Insist That Tasks Are Completed Before The Meeting
If there is any research, analysis, paperwork or any task that needs to be done before the meeting, ensure that this is done. This helps the meeting to go smoothly from topic to topic. Try a new work time tracker to ensure that everything is ready so that the meeting can flow efficiently.
Have A Cue For When A Person Exceeds Their Time
It could be in the form of a person standing up if they feel that the discussion is getting too much and taking up time for other topics.
Keep The Sensitive Topics For The Last Minutes
If you feel that the topic is likely to have an explosive reaction from the participants, then make it among the last on the agenda. It prevents them from rambling on and taking up too much time.