12 Smart Techniques To Make

Meetings More Productive

POST WRITTEN BY

Forbes Business Development Council

Senior-level sales & biz dev executives from Forbes Business Development Council share rsthand insights.

If your meetings are lacking the luster that you envisioned, you may want to take a
note from the playbook of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. According to a report by Inc., Bezos
has banned the use of PowerPoint, instead opting for narrative storytelling or the
reading of multiple page memos that are then discussed with enthusiasm.

While Bezos provides an interesting alternative way to have a productive meeting,

there are other ways that you can get the discussion rolling without relying on the
worn-out PowerPoint display.

To give you some ideas, 12 members ofForbes Business Development Council weigh in
on the leadership techniques they use to make meetings more productive. Here’s what
they recommend:

Council members offer advice for making meetings more productive. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS.

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1. Require Participation

Ask each member of the meeting to report or present or randomly call on people to
contribute to the conversation instead of waiting for them to offer commentary,
suggestions or feedback. Nothing will make someone pay attention in your future
meetings more than catching them off guard or unprepared when you call on them
unexpectedly! - Jen Tadin, Gallagher

2. Always Be Experimenting

We don’t just sell an experimentation platform, we also strive to be an experiment-

driven organization. To that end, we try not to focus too heavily on the net positive or
negative results of experiments, but rather what an individual learned from an
experiment. We then champion what worked, what didn’t and why throughout the
company, so that it’s an organization-wide learning experience. - Dane
Matheson, Alpha

3. Have Participants Submit Personal Agendas

In order to ensure that inefficiencies are avoided, all (internal) meeting participants
are asked to submit their personal agenda for the meeting prior to attending. There
are times when pulling the entire team is not necessary if there isn't going to be a
material return on investment (ROI); therefore only those who actively participate
need to join and everyone else will be brought up to speed through the meeting notes.
- Jared Shaner, Trellis

4. Make The Purpose Clear

I find it helpful to begin each meeting with a brief review of the purpose for the
meeting. We all have weekly meetings that can start to lose value over time. At a
certain point, everyone starts to wonder why we even bother. By starting off each
meeting with a restatement of the purpose for the meeting, we create a touchstone
that provides the participants with a focal point to maintain alignment. - Brandon
Ficara, Toco Warranty

5. Avoid Groupthink

During meetings, I like to pass the baton to different personalities in order to deter
groupthink. I also assign contrarians to bring up counterpoints as a way to look at
issues from multiple angles. This way, instead of just agreeing with the group, a
healthy debate can be started where people see and think about other viewpoints that

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may have normally gone against their natural thought process. - Christian
Valiulis, Automatic Payroll Systems

6. Keep Laptops Closed

There’s a growing body of research which shows that people retain less information
when they are on their laptops. This is not surprising, as it’s challenging for people to
participate in a meeting when they’re multitasking and distracted by other priorities. I
often ask team members to close their laptops in order to focus on the topic at hand
and to make the meeting more productive. - Rakhi Voria, Microsoft

7. Focus On Outcomes, Actions And Deadlines

At each meeting, our conversations are results-oriented. We start with the potential
outcome, the action steps required to implement the solution, the timeline for
completion and then we assign responsibilities to make sure all participants are
accountable to the project’s success. We avoid long presentations and ensure we’re
using everyone’s time in a pragmatic and efficient manner. - Joey Holt, Amerisleep

8. Set Clear Priorities

Every sales meeting we run has the same three-bullet agenda: 1) our people, 2) our
customers and 3) our business. This is the order of priority in which we discuss urgent
issues and future plans, and it allows us to stay focused on more core things at a time.
- Tommy McNulty, Fundera

9. Speak Last

I always make it a point to weigh in after everyone else in the meeting has had the
opportunity to share their thoughts. Not only do I greatly value the input of others,
but it is important that my point of view not bias the thinking of others. Meetings will
be more productive when participants can speak freely and openly and provide their
most genuine perspectives. - Adam Mendler, Beverly Hills Chairs

10. Make It Conversational

One way to make your meetings more productive is to keep them conversational.
Reading off of a PowerPoint or meeting outline word for word allows your
participants' mind to wonder. When you are speaking to people rather than at them,
you will get better attention and feedback. - Jamie Albano, GasBuddy

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11. Keep Them On Meeting-Related Topics

It's easy for a meeting to go sideways quickly. We all know that person who goes off on
tangents unrelated to the meeting itself. One way to ensure people stay on topic when
they begin to diverge is to stop them, and politely ask, "is it related to this meeting?"
This forces them to reassess their thoughts, and focus on what they really meant to
say. - Christopher Kingman, TransUnion

12. Ask Open-Ended Questions

It's hard to argue with the success of Jeff Bezos. But, I think that asking open-ended
questions of the team and openly discussing topics is better. Each person feeds off the
other, with discussions and different perspectives leading to substantial outcomes.
- Wayne Elsey, Elsey Enterprises

Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only, fee-based organization

for senior-level sales and business development executives. Find out if you qualify at
forbesbizdevcouncil.com/qualify.

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