Get more out of shorter meetings

More than ever before we are spending a greater amount of time in meetings, particularly when
you are planning and managing projects.
Sometimes long meetings are unavoidable, but it doesnt always have to be that way. Shorter
can mean better.
One way to make meetings more effective is to plan ahead. Walking into a meeting without the
full picture is almost certain to end in disaster.

There are three simple steps to ensure you get even more from your meetings:
Split up your meetings
If youre a project manager then a chunk of your time will be spent in meetings, so youll want to
make sure they are an efficient use of time. Determine the objective of the meeting and split into
separate categories with clear goals.
During the planning phase of a project, you will have some key meetings that will help ensure the
success of the project down the line. These include meeting with stakeholders firstly to
brainstorm project requirements, expectations and assumptions, and then to brainstorm risks and
opportunities. (Find out more about these key meetings in the eBook Mission Controlled: The 5
Step Guide to Project Planning).

When the project is live, even more meetings will be required. The Project Management Institute
suggest splitting into the following groups:

HHAY Meetings - these are short hello, how are you? meetings (seven minutes or
less) to check in with fellow project team members and see how each person is doing.
Queue Meetings - these are meetings to discuss specific issues you have at hand,
focused on key decisions that need to be made.
Innovation Meetings - this is time set aside to discuss ways to improve strategy,
teamwork, communication or other areas, and/or develop new ideas or processes.

Put a timer on it
Ever wondered why TED Talks only last 18 minutes? According to Chris Anderson, TED Talks
Curator, 18 minutes is long enough to be serious and short enough to hold peoples attention.
You may be thinking that this is a pretty short space of time for something that may have taken
an hour previously, but there are ways to stick to it. When you send your meeting request,
explain that there will be a timer, and ask attendees to be organised and gather the information
needed for the meeting in advance. You could also explain the benefits of a shorter meeting, but
then who doesnt like shorter meetings. They practically sell themselves.
Short meetings also mean the team have energy left to go and start their actions. In a short
space of time you can ignite an idea, make a decision or put something into action and gather
momentum quickly. Hows that for productivity?
Plan to make meetings more productive
Effective meetings are all about progressing to the next step quickly. But to enhance the
productivity of your meeting, you need to prime participants and create the right environment.
You need to think about what needs to be done in advance. Do people needed to be briefed prior
to the meeting? Do you need to direct them to gather and bring particular information? Do you
need to supply information that they need to look at in advance?
Then there is the meeting set up. What facilities do you need, such as audio-visual equipment?
This is a particularly important consideration if your meeting is off site, so youll need to check if
the venue has what you need.
Youll also need to think about how you will document the discussion. Good old pen and paper is
fine, but would a laptop or tablet with an appropriate application work better, not least for giving
you less work typing out your notes after the meeting.
And creating the right open environment for sharing information and ideas is also important. This
is particularly vital during brainstorming. You should first set the ground rules at the start: that
there is no such thing as a wrong answer.

The more information and ideas you have, then the less chance you have of missing something
significant, which is all the more important at the planning phase of a project, to avoid costly
mistakes down the line.
Find out more about how meetings play a vital role in project planning in the eBook Mission
Controlled: The 5 Step Guide to Project Planning.