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Everyone has experienced a bad meeting. The type that seems to drag on forever, only after starting late and being chaired by someone with no idea how to engage an audience.
Ineffective meetings waste time and money for everyone involved. Hence, it’s important to be proactive and mindful during the planning process.
So with this in mind, what follows is a brief eight-point checklist for organising and getting the most out of your next meeting:
1. Choose a Suitable venue
Don’t underestimate the importance of strategic meeting room hire. You need a corporate event venue that provides the facilities, the comfort and the flexibility you need to make your meeting a success. Our own meeting venue in London is spacious, conveniently located near 3 Underground stations and offers private catering where required. Everything you need for a successful and enjoyable meeting.
2. State Your Objectives
For your meeting to succeed, it needs to have a defined objective and purpose. Everyone needs to know why the meeting is taking place and what they can expect to get out of it. Vagueness and a lack of clarity will only instil a sense of apathy and disinterest in those invited to attend.
3. Consider Each Invitation
It’s important to carefully consider who actually needs to be at the meeting. There’s no sense forking out for a 1,000-capacity meeting hall if you really only need around 100 people at the event. Anyone in attendance who feels the meeting isn’t relevant to them is unlikely to take away anything positive – a waste of time for organiser and attendee alike.
4. Stick To Your Schedule
If you create a schedule for the order of the meeting, stick with it as rigidly as possible. When things become chaotic, it becomes increasingly difficult for attendees to remain focused and engaged. If you allocate 30 minutes to one specific subject, ensure it is given the allocated 30 minutes and no longer. This is particularly important if you issue a program/schedule for the meeting ahead of time.
5. Start and End on Time
Likewise, attendees always respond positively to punctuality. If you start and finish your meetings on the dot as specified, they’re far more likely to both engage and retain the attention of those in attendance. Punctuality is a hallmark of professionalism and a sign of respect. Both of which you’ll need to communicate to get the most out of your meeting.
6. Consider the Room’s Layout and Equipment
The meeting space you book needs to be suitably equipped and arranged to accommodate both your delegates and your requirements. Cramped, cluttered spaces and out-of-date equipment can see even the best-organised meetings quickly fall into disarray.
7. Organise Catering and Refreshments
For the comfort and enjoyment of your guests, you need to ensure adequate refreshments are provided for the duration of the meeting. Consider the catering services (or equipment) available at the venue, while remembering to factor in vegetarian/vegan delegates, guests with food allergies and so on.
8. Request Feedback
Last up, it’s worth remembering that there’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ meeting. There’s always room for improvement, which is why you need to request feedback and suggestions after every meeting. You may be wholly unaware of the kinds of issues that are making it difficult for your delegates to provide you with their full focus and attention. Even if the meeting is deemed a success, you could still benefit by requesting feedback from those who attended.
For more information on our flexible meeting rooms, contact a member of the team at Jenius Social today.