How To Hold A Successful Meeting In Your Office
Meetings: you can like them or you can hate them, but the fact is they’re an important part of office life. Everyone must know what the project leaders expect of them if each team is to complete their projects successfully for the business. Do you struggle to achieve what you plan to when you hold a meeting? Read on and find out how to hold a productive office meeting with or without high end meeting room furniture.
Make sure everyone will be comfortable
First thing’s first, everyone needs to be comfortable. If they’re all shuffling around constantly because they’re not sitting in comfortable seating or can’t sit around a good-sized table and take some notes during the meeting, they won’t pay you much attention. Choose a meeting room in the office, where there will be suitable conference room tables at which people can sit and take notes and where there will be space for everyone to focus comfortably on the meeting.
Set out an agenda
Decide what you want to discuss and then lay it out in an agenda. Send it to everyone you wish to attend the meeting. This gives them a chance to prepare for the meeting itself and also to decide whether to attend or not. If they don’t need to attend and don’t wish to either, this is better for you because there’s less chance of them derailing the meeting.
Keep your eye on the clock
If you don’t keep your eye on the clock, a meeting can go on for much longer than you intend it to, especially if the discussion strays from the original agenda. To help you focus on leading the meeting, you can assign a colleague to be the timekeeper. Make sure there is a clock in the room, too, and any other necessary accessories, such as whiteboards, wastepaper bins and, as mentioned, conference room tables.
Take some notes
Don’t forget to take your own notes. It’s easy to get so caught up in the discussion that you forget to make your own notes. Jot note down any questions people ask you, issues raised and any tasks you assign others in the meeting.
Follow up after the meeting
Once the meeting is over, follow it up and send an email to everyone who attended (and to anyone who wished to attend but wasn’t able to). Do this the same day as the meeting because the discussion will still be fresh in your mind. Following up the meeting is important. It allows you to establish that everyone has understood what you’ve discussed and what you’ve decided so you can continue moving forward.
Plan for your meeting and it can be highly productive, allowing the project(s) to keep progressing smoothly. Choose a comfortable meeting space that has adequate conference room tables and other facilities; know your aims and how much time you have, and be clear on the issues that have arisen and the action you’re going to take after the meeting. Continue the communications after the meeting to ensure everyone is on the same page and you’ll have held a truly productive meeting.
Speak to one of our furniture consultants if you have any questions about how to set up your meeting tables or browse our luxury office furniture collection today.
