From graduation to now, I have been working for nearly 5 years. During this period, I have experienced various meetings, big and small. There have been many concise and to-the-point meetings, as well as many confusing ones where I didn't know the meeting topic or my role. For example, the following types of meetings:
- I was notified to attend a meeting 5-10 minutes before it started or during the meeting. However, I had no idea what the meeting was about, who would be attending, or what would be discussed. I was just forcibly dragged into the meeting.
- I received an invitation to a meeting with a specific date and topic, but the invitation did not include an agenda, and there was no host to communicate with me beforehand. There were no documents related to the meeting, so I couldn't determine what I could contribute or how it would be useful to me.
- You are the host of the meeting, which was originally expected to last for 1 hour. However, due to a disagreement between attendees A and B, the discussion kept going off track and there was no substantial progress. Not only did the meeting go overtime, but there was also no meaningful outcome.
- Different roles have different focuses. As a developer, I would focus on whether the logic can be implemented, while a product manager would focus on the value and cost of the requirement. After talking for a long time, the requirement may have been finalized before you even understand the logic or feasibility, leading to endless debates.
I believe that most of us have encountered these situations to some extent, and there are actually many other situations as well. When I encounter these situations, my initial feeling is often frustration, followed by a rational analysis of what the meeting is actually about. After experiencing this many times, I think it's worth sharing and discussing some thoughts and methods on "how we should conduct meetings" with everyone. I hope that together we can improve meeting efficiency and have necessary high-quality meetings.
We can explore how to improve meeting efficiency by considering the elements of writing methods.
"What it is," "Why," and "How to do it."
1. What it is#
What is the "problem" that the meeting is trying to solve, and what is the purpose of the meeting?
Because a meeting without a clear purpose, even if it is short in duration, is still a failure. So, before the meeting, please clarify the purpose of the meeting. This will guide you in organizing a successful meeting. Different purposes and participants may require different meeting formats, and a good method is one that achieves the intended purpose.
2. Why#
Meetings are meant to solve problems; otherwise, why waste everyone's time?
You need to first understand what your problem is and whether there are other ways to solve it besides having a meeting. If you can clarify the issue by talking to a few relevant people, there may be no need to hold a formal meeting. So, first think about whether this meeting is necessary.
Is it worth involving so many people in solving the problem? Why do these departments and individuals need to be involved? Once you have a clear understanding of the problem, the purpose of the meeting becomes clear.
3. How to do it#
Consider the following:
- Meeting objectives
- Departments and individuals participating in the meeting
- The format and location of the meeting
Here is a checklist for the meeting process. Go through each item and make sure you have completed them.
1. Before the meeting
a. Determine the meeting topic and objectives
i. What will be discussed in this meeting?
ii. What are the goals to be achieved by the end of the meeting?
b. Identify relevant parties
i. Identify the departments, roles, and individuals involved in the meeting (It's better to have more relevant parties than fewer, to avoid the need for additional communication)
c. Conduct pre-meeting communication
i. Initiate a group discussion to communicate the core outline of the meeting and discuss any pre-meeting topics (key stakeholders can also be communicated with individually) to improve meeting efficiency.
d. Distribute meeting materials in advance for everyone to review.
e. Confirm the availability of all participants before the meeting (provide options based on everyone's availability from their calendars).
f. Send out meeting invitations
i. Invite the necessary participants (executors, decision-makers, and at least ensure that key roles can attend).
ii. It is best to send out the meeting invitation at least one day in advance.
iii. The meeting invitation should include the meeting topic, agenda, materials, time, and location. Emphasize what each relevant party needs to pay attention to.
2. During the meeting
a. 10 minutes before the meeting
i. Arrive at the meeting location 5-10 minutes in advance.
ii. Remind everyone of the meeting time and location in the group chat.
iii. If someone hasn't joined the meeting on time, request a response or call them individually. If they still haven't joined 5 minutes after the scheduled start time, start the meeting.
b. Keep the communication focused on the meeting topic
i. Present the background, objectives, and communication process of the meeting concisely.
ii. Discuss the meeting content (focus) - control the discussion, stay on topic, and avoid deviation.
1. The host must control the discussion (including the direction and pace of the discussion), guide the discussion process, and always stay on topic, focusing on efficiency until a conclusion is reached.
2. If there are disagreements or unresolved issues within the limited time of the meeting, make a note of them as "to do" and move on to the next question. If there are still unresolved issues by the end, the meeting can be ended on time and the disagreements can be addressed in a follow-up meeting (if it only involves a few relevant parties, separate communication can be done after the meeting).
3. After the meeting
a. Send out meeting minutes
i. Note that meeting minutes should not be vague descriptions. They should be actionable and trackable. Include the meeting conclusions (consensus reached), to-dos (pending issues and next actions), and confirm the responsible person and deadline. It is best to send them via email, but at the very least, ensure that everyone in the group is notified and relevant people are mentioned (@).
b. Track the progress of to-dos
i. Follow up on the progress based on the deadlines and responsible persons of the to-dos. If they are not completed on time, send reminders and set a new deadline for follow-up.
Finally, not all problems need to be solved through meetings. Any efficient method that works for you is a good method. Holding meaningless meetings is like asking random questions without even bothering to look them up on Baidu Baike. It makes people uncomfortable. It's easy to know what to do, but it's difficult to put it into practice. Let's encourage each other~