Meetings are unavoidable. And they can be important. How we go about creating, arranging and organising meetings needs to be rethought, though.
Last week I talked about setting agendas, a practice I personally find really useful. It helps me make sure I’m calling everyone together for a reason and that we all know what we’re trying to get out of it. Equally, if I’m invited to a meeting I find an agenda helpful to make sure I’m properly prepared and able to contribute.
One tip I’ve found super useful when inviting other people to a meeting is to give them a choice of times that suit me and being clear how much of their time I want. Instead of saying “Are you free next week?” try “Are you free for 30 minutes next week? I could do 16.30 on Tuesday, 10.00 Wednesday or between 14.00-16.00 on Thursday.”
Giving the other person options makes their decision process simpler because they don’t have to do the work. They can still come back with different options if they want to, but they can easily check their diaries and agree to meet.
People don’t like meetings. We never liked them when we were in offices and there seems to be an even greater dislike when we’re remote. 1 So if a meeting is a must, we can at least make the process easier.