Running an effective business meeting can be challenging, but with help from Ball Conference Center, your employees can leave feeling energized and excited about their work! We’ve all sat through business meetings that just seem to drone on and on. Ball Conference Center offers two facility meeting rooms and a ballroom that can be sectioned off into three separate, sound-insulated rooms that will guarantee that your meetings are both as efficient and productive as possible. With Ball’s facilities and these 7 Tips for Effective Business Meetings, you can ensure that all smartphones are out of sight, and that you have your business guests’ full attention!
- Start on time, end on time. If you have responsibility for running regular meetings and you have a reputation for being someone who starts and ends promptly, you will be amazed how many of your colleagues will make every effort to attend your meetings. People appreciate it when you understand that their time is valuable. Another note on time: Do not schedule any meeting to last longer than an hour. Sixty minutes is generally the longest time workers can remain truly engaged.
- Take no hostages. Nothing derails a meeting faster than one person talking more than his fair share. If you notice one person monopolizing the conversation, call him out. You might say, “We appreciate your contributions, but now we need input from others before making a decision.” Be public about it. Establishing ground rules early on will create a framework for how your group functions.
Executive Boardroom
- Stick to your schedule. Create an agenda that lays out everything you plan to cover in the meeting, along with a timeline that allots a certain number of minutes to each item, and email it to people in advance. Once you’re in the meeting, put that agenda up on a screen or whiteboard for others to see. This keeps people focused. You can do so in Ball’s Mabee Learning Center and Executive Boardroom with the use of our full-feature audio and projection systems!
- Consider who is invited. When you’re calling a meeting, take time to think about who really needs to be there. If you’re announcing a change, invite the people who are affected by the announcement. If you’re trying to solve a problem, invite the people who will be good sources of information for a solution. When people feel that what’s being discussed isn’t relevant to them, or that they lack the skills or expertise to be of assistance, they’ll view their attendance at the meeting as a waste of time.
- Make your objective clear. A meeting must have a specific and defined purpose. Before you send that calendar invite, ask yourself: What do I seek to accomplish? Are you alerting people to a change in management or a shift in strategy? Are you seeking input from others on a problem facing the company? Are you looking to arrive at a decision on a particular matter? Standing meetings with vague purposes, such as “status updates,” are rarely a good use of time.
Mabee Learning Center
6. Ban technology.
The reality is that if people are allowed to bring iPads or Smart Phones into the room, they won’t be focusing on the meeting or contributing to it. Instead, they’ll be emailing, surfing the web, or just playing around with their technology. Eyes up here, please. It’s up to you to keep the content engaging and audio-visuals can really help with that objective. With Ball’s Executive Boardroom, keeping employees engaged will be easier with the capabilities to easily project your presentation, share a film clip or even host a video conference!
7. Follow up.It’s quite common for people to come away from the same meeting with very different interpretations of what went on. To reduce this risk, email a memo highlighting what was accomplished to all who attended – within 24 hours after the meeting. Document the responsibilities given, tasks delegated, and any assigned deadlines. That way, everyone will be on the same page.
Next time you’re planning an important business meeting, keep these tips handy and Ball Conference Center in mind to switch up the environment for a positive change! For more information, call Michael Nicoski at Ball Conference Center at (913) 322-4980. We look forward to showing you around our state of the art facilities and helping you plan your next successful business meeting!
