Hosting a meeting is not just about taking the team through an agenda. When chairing a meeting, the responsibility of the team becomes yours. However, it should not drain all your energy, for you to host a conference effectively the following points will make your next hurdle easier.
Connect with All the Participants
How do meetings take place in your office? Do you share the agenda? Whichever way you begin, the team leader should not allow the participants to seem disconnected. The essence of a meeting is face-to-face engagement and not sharing data. Share any information before the meeting so that everyone will participate and push their minds for brainstorming. It is also a great way to save time and make the members free with each other.
Keep Changing the Leader
For a meeting to be effective, all the members must interact because people have varying ideas that add value to the discussion. However simple it may seem, it is not. A great way to encourage participation is through changing leaders. The host kick starts the meeting and hands over to another individual when a new agenda is brought up. Try using people knowledgeable in specific areas.
Link the Agenda with Your Mission
Successful team meetings are not just for discussing reports, motions and deadlines. Several meetings are often not connected to the mission and vision of the firm. Since the mission statement is the key to the business objectives, it should be injected directly into the agenda of the meeting. All meetings should have the mission related to the discussion for the members to be aware of what they are doing and what they need to do for the company to grow.
Creativity Is Important
Team conferences can get a bit boring since they are repetitive, especially if they are held regularly. Juggling things around and bringing in something new in each meeting can make the participants stimulated. It is also a good way to spur innovative ideas and answers.
It can be as simple as starting with a joke, engaging in team-building activities, changing the scenery or even providing snacks-food has a way with crowds.
Encourage Participation
Lack of engagement from team members could be due to unawareness. Some team members may not know the reason for the meeting. The meeting’s purpose should be relevant and known to all. Awareness encourages participation in discussions and involvement in decision making. Have each team member participate and share their ideas. If the team is encouraged to participate, they will be genuinely excited about the meetings and will see it in a positive way contributing to the discussion. Moreover, it gives a team member a sense of belonging.
Hosting an effective team conference that is exciting is not difficult, It may take you some attempts before getting it right, it is worth perfecting it. Ensure that you are not wasting people’s time, there is a legitimate reason for the meeting and that the results will be put into action. Otherwise, just send it through an email.
