What are some effective ways to manage time during meetings?

Ask just four things to the host, work for almost everything What are we trying to accomplish? What information do we need? When does this need to be executed? How will it be executed?

Having a clear way of communication is fundamental in any project. To manage the time efficiently, a time duration shall be sat and communicated to all meeting participants. Write down the income you want to achieve out of the meeting and make sure you got it by the last quarter of the meeting so you can sum it all up and make sure all participants are well informed.

You don't need a meeting for everything. I find that there are generally 4 main purpose of a meeting: 1. To convey an update where participants body language are important feedback to you in real time. 2. To make a decision. 3. To solve a problem by brainstorming or creative workshop. 4. To work with each other to foster team building. Otherwise, any other info sharing can be done via email or instant messaging.

While they're crucial for communication, meetings can easily turn counterproductive. To enhance meetings, I believe in setting clear objectives and agendas in advance, encouraging active participation, and respecting everyone's time.

-Setting an agenda is Time sensitive and should be diverse, inclusive, ethical and conflict free -A win win situation means engaged leaders are able to choose their own agenda as their imagination roam freely on the field of play -set time bound goals and be prepared for any potential conflict. -what was completed at 11am was completed at 11am. Irreversible

Absolutely fundamental. Not only a clear agenda, but also an agenda that is shared and agreed by the participants. Meetings have to have a clear scope, goal, objective that has to be shared by all participating sides. Moreover, it is crucial to have clear action items and follow-up actions that are agreed and each has to have a person responsible for it. Concrete outcomes and actionable results not only result in more effective meetings, but also improve morale and avoid the: "I have attended a meeting that should have been an email" scenario.

Most of the meetings happen in 30 minutes or 60 minutes, Instead the 45 minutes meeting are most effective ones, leaves room for people joining in late and leave room at the end to get everyone to talk.

Don't fill the time. If you cover the agenda items, end the meeting early. Manage "meeting creep" by taking things "offline with identified individuals and a follow up date" or agree to revisit a topic later, if there is time. Save time for wrap up/next actions

I strongly recommend starting the meeting on time because we also need to honour the time of those people who arrive on time. I know it's difficult when there are more than 5 attendees to start absolutely on time, so I generally wait +/- 1-2 minutes, which allow for small talks and ice breakers. After that, we begin and late comers will eventually catch up on the conversation.

I often jot down the feedback I need from certain individuals and/or areas. If they seem quiet during discussion, I will try to ask a direct question that assists in obtaining the information that I need. I may also alert them in advance that I need their feedback; some people need time to think about a response and this can be helpful.

In this part, the facilitator should be mindful of the presence of quieter participants. Social commentators like Susan Cain have spoken about the introvert personality. Also, cultural differences might influence how much a person speaks up. Allow time and space for this cohort of people to express their thoughts and allow alternative ways to communicate other than speaking up publicly.

Send out a pre-read to socialize content and give people a chance to reflect on questions, comments, and suggestions prior to the meeting.

Have some go-to lines ready to use for example, "thanks for raising your concerns. Because it's specific to your department, how about I send you a follow up meeting to discuss your concerns and we'll update the broader group after we've met."

It is crucial to send follow up agreed action items to the meeting members, or use the RASCI model to help with formulating next steps. Otherwise if it's not clear who's going to do what, the time spent at the meeting will be a waste of time.

So much can be said in a meeting, it's nice to have follow up action items, or quality notes to go back to. Using AI to transcribe and recap meeting notes has been super helpful. Right now we've been using Fireflies.

If there is a follow-up discussion, sending a reminder of the action items in advance of that discussion can help maintain progress on the initiative and ensure the follow-up discussion is as productive as possible.

Before you start a meeting proper, ask and agree these simple guidelines. 1. What we have come into the room to do. 2. Have a short list of clear outcomes. 3. Set a finish time. 4. Chair the meeting based on 3 above. 5. Cut out waffle.

Its important to be prepared for a productive meeting, not only the facilitator but the whole group. If it's a meeting with set agenda, it is worth adding the preparation guidelines for different members/ representatives/ groups. Some of the general guidelines could be as follows- 1. Reading material highlighted and summary shared in advance of the meeting for the group to be more prepared. 2. Ask the members to come ready with their questions and queries. 3. Always have a place for people to leave suggestions for a better facilitation of the meeting.

With especially complex projects or meetings that will include stakeholders from different disciplines, be mindful of jargon and acronyms that may be unfamiliar to all participants. If there is background or crucial context to the project, consider keeping a running document where it can be revisited, or repeat key points each time the group is together. Missing context can be a barrier to meaningful discussion and progress.