Have you ever attended a meeting and wondered why you are there?

Sometimes people send out meeting invites across the entire organization on the assumption that many heads are best. However, more attendees often make a meeting less productive. An article from Flowtrace indicated that 35% of survey respondents believed that limited the number of people in the room was important for meeting success.

When participants start to believe the meeting is a waste of time, their engagement slips. This can lead to mildly disruptive behavior, such as looking at phones or side-conversations. At worst, it can rise to active disruption in the form of pointless argumentation or snide comments.

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A cardinal rule of meetings is to invite as few people as possible, but enough to make the meeting effective. How should a meeting planner determine whom to invite? Here are a few parameters:

• Does the meeting topic directly affect a potential attendee’s core job functions?
• Are they directly responsible, or part of the team responsible, for the item discussed?
• Will they carry out actions resulting from decisions made at the meeting?
• Do they have specific expertise relating to the topic of the meeting?
• Could a team leader attend in place of the whole team and report back?

For example, an early high level meeting to discuss the allocation of the materials selection budget could be attended by the division leaders, including collections, finance, and administration. A future meeting where the discussion reaches branch level allocations could be expanded to include the branch division head and specific managers who oversee special collections.

In addition, keep in mind that not all participants need to stay for the entire meeting. When someone is done with their portion of the meeting, allow them to exit if feasible. To that end, it is helpful to organize the meeting agenda to enable participants with limited roles to have their items discussed early so they can leave to resume their regular duties.

Remember, employees work time is valuable. Don’t waste their contributions by obligating them to attend unnecessary meetings. They will appreciate it.

You may have heard the not so old saying: “That was another meeting that could have been an email.”

People detest meetings when they feel unproductive. This is especially true when the reason for calling the meeting is unclear. Based on my experience, there are three major reasons to call a meeting that will keep participants engaged and come to productive conclusions.

1/ Sharing Important Information

Sharing information is a base-line function of all meetings. However, face-to-face is very useful for these types of situations:

• Sharing Important/Timely News – Sometimes breaking news must be shared with everyone together at the same time. For example, when an organization is set to issue a controversial press release a quick all hands-on deck meeting may be the fastest way to inform the team in advance and at the same time.
• Immediate Q&A – Instead of letting confusion linger, questions about an important or complicated topic can be quickly addressed in a face-to-face meeting. Answers are heard by the entire team at the same time, avoiding repetition.
• The “Look Them in the Eyes” Factor – Whenever there is bad or sad news to share or an apology
  to be issued, doing so in person conveys respect for the team.

2/ Making a Presentation

While presentation can be sent by email, something might be lost without a presenter to emphasize or clarify items. Presenting in person can improve comprehension and increase engagement in the material. Types of presentations best suited for face-to-face meetings include:

• Complicated Items – Presentations can break down complex subjects for easier understanding. In a live situation, the presenter can adjust on the fly to match audience’s perceived understanding and level of engagement.
• Clear up Misunderstandings – Presenters can address questions as they come up, allowing the whole group to benefit while the topic is fresh in their minds.
• Swaying Opinion – If people need to be convinced on a course of action, face-to-face “sales” type
  presentations are preferred. In this format, a presenter is able to access a wide range of public speaking tools to make their case for a course of action.

3/ Facilitating Discussion

Bringing people together creates an opportunity to dive deeply into a topic that non-
synchronized formats cannot duplicate. Talking together in the same room can be very stimulating and help build up a team. Examples of meetings designed for discussion include:

• Problem Solving – Coming together in person is often the fastest way to solve a problem. Teammates share different viewpoints and build on each other’s ideas. This can develop innovative ways to resolve issues that could not be thought of individually.
• Strategic Visioning – Bringing together people from different parts of the organization for long-
  range planning meeting is a beneficial exercise. Small-scale, in-person discussions can surface facts or concerns from across the organization.
• Finding Consensus – When a critical decision must be made, face-to-face discussions can be
  the fastest way to get the team into agreement. An open discussion allows all parties to share
  their concerns and increase the potential to come to a meaningful decision.

If you are considering calling a meeting think about whether it falls into one of these three reasons. Otherwise, start drafting that email.