We all want to participate in our meetings, but is it possible to over-participate? It is if you spend more time talking and sharing than doing productive work after the meeting. If your meeting participation is starting to cut into your ability to focus on work, it’s time to pare back your involvement. Follow these tips from productivity experts to be better prepared by doing less.

When you try something new, your first instinct is to prepare as much as possible. That’s true whether you’re learning a new skill, delivering a presentation, or going to a meeting to discuss new issues and objectives.

When you do this, you focus on the learning rather than on the experience itself. That’s the wrong way to approach a new experience. Learning by doing is one of the best ways to learn something. Building experience starts by jumping into something new and figuring it out.

Instead of trying to learn everything at once, focus on the meeting as a chance for experiential learning. Use the meeting as a learning experience. Stand back, and let the experience teach you rather than trying to control the outcome.

 Are you trying to prepare for every possible contingency when you attend a meeting? It isn’t possible to anticipate everything, and it’s not productive to do so. Take some of the pressure off yourself by letting yourself believe that 80% preparation is enough.

Why is this important? Focusing on every possible outcome is a waste of your creativity and mental effort. Instead of doing that, develop a plan that includes a timeline and details of what you plan to work on after the meeting. Be sure to include specifics about which details you’ll let go of.

By doing this, you’ll have a plan that addresses 80% of the possibilities. That’s a solid basis to start from, and it leaves you room to be flexible and creative.

Status updates can take up huge chunks of meeting time. If you spend a lot of time on this, that leaves less time for strategy planning, spotlighting team achievements, solving current problems, or otherwise using your meeting productively.

Long, detailed status updates take time to prepare. They’re important, but they should not be the focus of every meeting. To cut down on this time waster, try these tactics:

• Put a time limit on status updates during the meeting
• Write a brief status update, and distribute it to your team before the meeting
• Hand out a printout with the status updates at the end of the meeting

Can your meetings be engaging, enjoyable, and purposeful? Our Powerfully Simple Meetings (PSM) program can train you to conduct meetings that foster more creativity and real solutions. With our help, your meetings can be the best part of your workday.

 

Efficient Meeting Flow – MeetingResult