20 Tips to Make Company Meetings Engaging and Productive

When a meeting strikes the perfect balance of discussion, brainstorming, and useful information it can leave those attending energized and engaged.

But what makes for a good meeting? That depends on the format and the goals, but there are best practices that can make any meeting more successful. Tweak your next one with these suggestions to increase your team's productivity.

Ten Tips for in Person and Virtual Meetings  

1.    Make meetings matter

Before you even send out an invite, look at what needs to be done in the meeting. Each item on the agenda should have a clear end goal in mind. For example, “reach an agreement,” “brainstorm at least five ideas,” or “select someone to spearhead a project,” all communicate to meeting attendees the meeting will be worth their time. They can expect to finish the meeting with clear and measurable goals accomplished.

2.    Trim extra material

Avoid burdening meetings with long informational sections best communicated in writing. Meetings don’t always have to fill their timeslots. If all meetings you lead take the same amount of time, this is a clear sign the clock is dictating your content rather than a strong agenda. It is much better to have a short effective meeting that reaches needed goals than to waste employee’s time on announcements and information. 

3.    Avoid awkward icebreakers

Sure, there are those who enjoy answering questions like, “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?” However, team building isn’t a priority for every meeting. To make meetings matter, stick to the goals for each one, and you’ll ensure that icebreakers are a hit when they are used. Tying any team building activity into the content of the meeting will also help participants gain the most from icebreakers.

4.    Don’t multitask

Create an atmosphere that discourages multitasking. While it’s true some are better than others, research has shown that doing more than one thing at a time takes a massive toll on productivity. By asking for input from participants throughout meetings and assigning the content of each one to multiple people, you’ll ensure that meetings don’t become an opportunity to tune out and get other work done.

5.    Keep it small

It’s tempting to get all your employees involved for maximum participation and buy in, but having more than seven to ten people attend a meeting can hurt engagement. Publish notes in a company wiki if decisions or other meeting info is needed by a larger group to keep attendance manageable. If you need everyone there, call it a Q&A session or a company town hall rather than a meeting. It’s all about setting the right expectations.

7.    Give specific instructions with defined outcomes

Give clear, logical, and useful tasks that apply to all employees and the meeting will become relevant for everyone. For instance, ask everyone to brainstorm with a partner for five minutes, or use active listening to create at least three questions related to the focus of the meeting.

8.    Create a good (but not necessarily comfortable) environment

Part of a good organization’s culture is the ability to challenge the ideas and views of others in a way that is respectful and productive. Ensure that whenever possible in a meeting there is an opportunity to do this. Few things are as useful as engaging in a good debate between trusted team members to arrive at the best strategy.

9.    Make sure the timing is right

Be flexible. It’s a good idea to check in with the preferences of those who are most needed at the meeting. If you have an 8:00am meeting with five late night workers and one morning person, things are less likely to go well. The time of day that a meeting is scheduled for can have a major impact on what gets done.

10.  Finish with clear objectives

Give each employee specific tasks to accomplish before the next meeting. You don’t need to know these responsibilities before the initial meeting, but they should come out of that time together. Each participant should leave a meeting with clear action points and an idea of how to complete them.

 Five Tips for Virtual Meetings

1.  Turn off the camera

Letting people turn off their cameras may be helpful in building a better working environment. Recent studies have shown that when employees are forced to be ‘on’, they experience higher levels of fatigue. If you can make the meeting more like a conversation where everyone knows they are expected to contribute at any time, it can help reduce multitasking.

2.    Make sure you can’t see yourself

Despite the last tip, there are times when you need your camera on to engage more with listeners. But when you see your own image looking back at you in the corner of the screen, it can be a major distraction. Watching yourself to evaluate expressions takes cognitive energy that’s better spent engaging in the discussion. Choose a view where you won’t see yourself while keeping your camera on to solve for this.

3.    Engage people as quickly as possible

Start with a few direct questions to specific individuals that are both engaging and relevant to the work. People were built to work in a community, and a virtual meeting can run counter to that. We can still feel isolated in our own homes or offices if we’re reminded of the distance between us and others. Staying engaged in dialogue during a meeting helps foster ongoing connectivity.

4.   Use breakout rooms

If you have a larger group, usually more than ten, but still need the brainstorming function of a smaller meeting, breakout rooms are a good option. This is a useful feature for strategic meetings when you need to capitalize on the collective brainpower of everyone there.

5.   Know your tech

Don’t just know where the ‘on/mute’ button for your mic is. Understand your computer system well enough to trouble shoot quickly in case of an unexpected issue. Find what inputs work best, how to switch between microphones and cameras if you have multiple options for both and how to ensure you are positioned to look straight into the camera during the meeting.

Five Tips for In Person Meetings

1.    Allow for side conversations

Break up lecture style information with smaller tasks for the group to accomplish with the people they are sitting near. Part of the benefit of meeting in person is the ability to brainstorm in a conversational way.

2.   Pay attention to body language

Watch for nods or looks of bewilderment. It’s ok to check in to make sure you’ve been understood if you are getting confusing feedback. One of the most important things lost in virtual meetings is the ability to read another’s body language, so be sure to take full advantage of this type of communication when you are all in the same room.