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Business Meeting Blues

There's nothing like a long meeting to suck the creativity and enthusiasm out of your work day. You know the types ...colleagues start by talking strategy and then somewhere between the beginning and end, the group gets sidetracked and you realize that you spent an hour talking about nothing and you walk away feeling as though you wasted part of your day.

A recent Inc.com article, focuses on this very subject. Opinion Research USA also conducted a study about the most annoying aspects of a business meeting. Here are some of the results:

1. Disorganized, rambling meetings (27%)
2. Interrupting peers (17%)
3. Peers nodding off (9%)
4. Lack of bathroom breaks (8%)
5. Meeting attendees checking their emails (5%)

I admit that I have been both a victim and violator of some of the annoyances listed above. The good news is that I've not only learned from mistakes, but I'm better at knowing when my participation in a meeting may be helpful in moving it along so that we accomplish our goals.

As a professional in the business world for a number of years, I've found three golden rules for conducting an effective business meeting. They are:

1. Insist on having an agenda before any meeting. It doesn't have to be formal, just a short outline of we are to accomplish and expected outcomes so that I know my intended takeaways.
2. Table any other subject matter, besides what we are scheduled to discuss, and schedule a second meeting. This can happen particularly during staff meetings and can take up the time of others who may not be involved in the other subject matter.
3. Keep meetings to maximum 30 minutes. Obviously, some meetings warrant more time, but if I can "get in and get out" by efficiently accomplishing my goals, then everyone will feel that their time was well spent.

What are your tried and true methods to conducting effective business meetings? I'm anxious to see what works best for others. Who knows, maybe my list of three golden rules will grow ...