Tips for Running Great Meetings

Great meetings have some specific characteristics:

• they are energetic and discussion is robust;
• they are disciplined;
• decisions are taken;
• people leave the meeting energised and excited to take action; and
• they look forward to the next meeting.

In this video, I discuss the following tips for running great meetings:

1. Start and finish on time.
2. Reprioritize the agenda.
3. Agree on how the meeting will be run and engage all participants as collaborators in running the meeting well.
4. Introduce each agenda item by stating the question to be answered or decision taken (see my previous article and video).
5. Allow defined time for discussion.
6. Don't allow participants to ramble, go down rabbit holes or indulge in long stories.
7. Use a parking lot.
8. Clearly articulate the decision taken or the answer to the question before moving on.
9. End the meeting with 3 questions:
   - What is each person going to do and by when?
   - What did we do well in this meeting?
   - What do we want to do better next time?