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 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 forcefully 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, and it was originally expected to end within 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 of attendees 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. This will lead to endless debates later on.
I believe that most of us have encountered these situations to some extent, and there are actually many more. 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 necessary to share and discuss some thoughts and methods on "how we should conduct meetings" with everyone. I hope we can improve meeting efficiency together and have necessary high-quality meetings.
We can explore how to improve meeting efficiency by considering the elements of writing methods: "What," "Why," and "How."
1. What#
What is the "problem" that the meeting is trying to solve, and what is the purpose of the meeting?
Because a meeting without achieving its purpose, no matter how short it is, is considered a failure. So, before the meeting, please understand the purpose of the meeting. This will guide you in organizing the meeting more successfully. Different purposes and participants may require different meeting formats, and a good method is one that achieves the 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 organize a formal meeting. So, first think about whether this meeting is necessary.
Is it worth having so many people involved in solving the problem in this meeting? Why should these departments and individuals be involved? When you have a clear understanding of the problem, the purpose of the meeting becomes clear.
3. How#
Consider the following points:
- 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 to ensure that you have done everything.
1. Before the meeting
a. Determine the meeting topic and objectives
i. What will be discussed in this meeting?
ii. What are the objectives to be achieved by the end of the meeting?
b. Identify relevant stakeholders
i. Identify which departments and roles are involved in this meeting (it's better to have more stakeholders than fewer, to avoid the need for additional communication)
c. Conduct pre-meeting communication
i. Communicate the core outline of the meeting and the issues that need to be discussed in advance (key stakeholders can also be communicated with separately) to improve meeting efficiency.
d. Distribute meeting materials for everyone to read in advance.
e. Confirm the availability of all participants before the meeting (provide options based on their availability from their calendars).
f. Send out meeting invitations
i. Invite the necessary participants (executors, decision-makers, 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 stakeholder 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 one-on-one. If they still haven't joined after 5 minutes past the meeting 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.
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 points 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 at the end, the meeting can be ended on time and the disagreements can be addressed in a future meeting (if it's only a matter between a few stakeholders, it can be discussed separately 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 meeting conclusions (consensus reached), to-do items (pending issues and next actions), and confirm responsibilities and deadlines. It's best to send them via email, or at least notify the group chat and @ the relevant people.
b. Track the progress of to-do items
i. Track the progress based on the milestones and responsible parties of the to-do items. If they are not completed on time, follow up and set a new deadline for tracking.
Finally, not all problems need to be solved through meetings. Any efficient method that works for you is a good method. Having meaningless meetings is as uncomfortable as asking questions without even bothering to search on Baidu. It's easy to know what to do, but difficult to put it into practice. Let's encourage each other!