A meetings expert has listed a number of business meeting ‘deadly sins’ in order to highlight both their pitfalls and what can be done to turn it around.
Lisa Girard, writing for entrepreneur.com, believes that for many businesses, a meeting can lack focus, a clear agenda and could end up to be a massive waste of time.
As a result, it’s important to avoid the ritualistic nature of daily, weekly and monthly meetings. According to Girard, companies frequently meet because it’s time for their weekly meeting – this often ends up with attendees flipping an ‘off switch’ in their brains.
Therefore it is important to meet only when the team leader can define why it is necessary and how it will advance the strategy of the organisation. This could involve booking a conference space especially for the meeting.
Another deadly sin is letting the meeting become a one-way conversation, cites njuice.com.
“People often tune out monotone lecturers and mind-numbing PowerPoint presentations,” she said. “Encourage your team to speak up, exchange ideas and comment on what they’ve heard. If you show PowerPoint slides, make them visually interesting and keep words and numbers to a minimum.”
Meetings that are held in a bland environment are also lethal to boredom levels. Girard suggests taking employees on a ‘walking’ meeting in the park or just around the building.
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