As PR professionals, we know the phrase by now, “This meeting could have been an email.” We know it because too many companies still have too many meetings. The rise of working from home has cut down on this somewhat, but plenty of people still have to go into the office. Still, many Zoom meetings stretch on much longer than they should. Some not only hurt productivity, but many are, to put it bluntly, boring. 

Here are five tips on how to keep your meetings effective and engaging without going over fifteen minutes.

1. Make Them Exclusive.

Streamlining attendance for meetings is one of the easiest ways to make them shorter: the fewer people who can offer their two cents, the better. An exclusive meeting doesn’t mean the exclusion of stakeholders, but most people don’t want to be in discussions that aren’t necessary. Start being choosier on who needs to attend a meeting, and you’ll find it much easier to focus on the task.

2. Cut Down the Small Talk. 

A quick question about everyone’s weekend is probably OK, but you did not put a meeting on people’s calendars to hear about their recent trip to the water park. Ensure the team understands that the place for small talk is better served during lunch or on Slack, but it shouldn’t take up precious time at the meeting. Get the niceties out of the way and then get to it.

3. Stick to the Agenda.

Sticking to an agenda should also come with a sub-tip: create an agenda. Yes, it may seem like extra work, but the more prepared you are makes for a more productive and on-topic meeting. Write down the key topics you want to cover. If it doesn’t seem like there is enough to discuss, you can decide to cancel. What you can’t do is add extra stuff in there to try and take up some more time to make the meeting “worth it.” People genuinely enjoy meetings that are shorter than they expected, so if your agenda means you only need to discuss things for 12 minutes, no one will complain.

4. Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole.

Even if you remain on topic, there is still a chance of people diving too deep and getting lost in the weeds. It can lead to arguments that stretch longer than they need to or pedantic quibbles that most people in the meeting aren’t interested in. Ensure and hash out the topics that require discussion. Equally, if somebody can take a topic offline for discussion, clarifying the second people start to drift is essential.

5. Be Friendly but Firm.

Keeping meetings short is a priority, but don’t bully people into it. Make sure you adhere to all of the previous tips without making people wish they hadn’t shown up. Keeping people on track and being rude can be a fine line, but finding that middle ground is incredibly valuable. If you’re concerned, take an informal poll after a few meetings and see what you can improve. 

Not every meeting should be an email. Some meetings are crucial to keeping people in sync, moving ahead on a project or brainstorming. They are only as effective as how you make them, though. A short meeting makes for a happy meeting, which means more satisfied employees. 

Need a winning PR strategy to help your organization break through the noise? Mercury Global Partners is an award-winning PR firm focused on emerging tech. Get in touch with us at hello@wearemgp.com.

As PR professionals, we know the phrase by now, “This meeting could have been an email.” We know it because too many companies still have too many meetings. The rise of working from home has cut down on this somewhat, but plenty of people still have to go into the office. Still, many Zoom meetings stretch on much longer than they should. Some not only hurt productivity, but many are, to put it bluntly, boring. 

Here are five tips on how to keep your meetings effective and engaging without going over fifteen minutes.

1. Make Them Exclusive.

Streamlining attendance for meetings is one of the easiest ways to make them shorter: the fewer people who can offer their two cents, the better. An exclusive meeting doesn’t mean the exclusion of stakeholders, but most people don’t want to be in discussions that aren’t necessary. Start being choosier on who needs to attend a meeting, and you’ll find it much easier to focus on the task.

2. Cut Down the Small Talk. 

A quick question about everyone’s weekend is probably OK, but you did not put a meeting on people’s calendars to hear about their recent trip to the water park. Ensure the team understands that the place for small talk is better served during lunch or on Slack, but it shouldn’t take up precious time at the meeting. Get the niceties out of the way and then get to it.

3. Stick to the Agenda.

Sticking to an agenda should also come with a sub-tip: create an agenda. Yes, it may seem like extra work, but the more prepared you are makes for a more productive and on-topic meeting. Write down the key topics you want to cover. If it doesn’t seem like there is enough to discuss, you can decide to cancel. What you can’t do is add extra stuff in there to try and take up some more time to make the meeting “worth it.” People genuinely enjoy meetings that are shorter than they expected, so if your agenda means you only need to discuss things for 12 minutes, no one will complain.

4. Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole.

Even if you remain on topic, there is still a chance of people diving too deep and getting lost in the weeds. It can lead to arguments that stretch longer than they need to or pedantic quibbles that most people in the meeting aren’t interested in. Ensure and hash out the topics that require discussion. Equally, if somebody can take a topic offline for discussion, clarifying the second people start to drift is essential.

5. Be Friendly but Firm.

Keeping meetings short is a priority, but don’t bully people into it. Make sure you adhere to all of the previous tips without making people wish they hadn’t shown up. Keeping people on track and being rude can be a fine line, but finding that middle ground is incredibly valuable. If you’re concerned, take an informal poll after a few meetings and see what you can improve. 

Not every meeting should be an email. Some meetings are crucial to keeping people in sync, moving ahead on a project or brainstorming. They are only as effective as how you make them, though. A short meeting makes for a happy meeting, which means more satisfied employees. 

Need a winning PR strategy to help your organization break through the noise? Mercury Global Partners is an award-winning PR firm focused on emerging tech. Get in touch with us at hello@wearemgp.com.