The Top Pitfalls of Pitiful Meetings…that can be corrected before the meeting even starts! ...Meeting Effectiveness Tips from FireFly Facilitation

The following pitfalls below are all points that can be avoided or corrected before the meeting even starts. For each pitfall, I share with you my expert tips on how to run a meeting like a pro!  To see the entire list, refer to the previous post, The Top Ten Pitfalls of Pitiful Meetings.

– No clear reason for meeting – Look back to the earlier post that talks about “When NOT to have a meeting”. The very first thing I discussed is being clear on the meeting deliverables – what do you hope to walk out of this meeting with. Being clear about this one thing will ensure a greater likelihood of an effective meeting than anything else you can do.

– No agenda sent out in advance – Remember the last time you actually received an agenda in advance of a meeting? Likely, you immediately had a higher perception of whether this meeting was going to be a waste of time or not. Of course, if you don’t have an agenda planned to begin with, then you can’t send it in advance - which reinforces the top point of no clear reason for meeting. Be sure in knowing why you are having the meeting, create a draft agenda, and then let the participants know about the meeting. Finalize the agenda once you know who will be attending. 

– Not getting the right people to attend – Would you attend a meeting (if you could get out of it) if you didn’t know why the meeting was being held and why you in particular were invited? Too many times we invite too many people and don’t make clear what role we want them to play – do we want them to be an expert, the influencer, or a decider? Be strategic.