By Andrea Driessen
Meetings can become boring when attendees feel their time is disrespected and their contributions are underappreciated. Let’s look at five common ways meetings suck our time — and what to do instead.
1. Meetings without end goals
How do you know when you’re finished with your meeting if you haven’t set a goal for it in the first place? Meetings are often scheduled out of habit or obligation, not because there is a pressing problem to solve as a group.
Before and during a gathering, give your audience a clear picture of where you’re headed and what your meeting is accomplishing. For example, post a meeting checklist with clear milestones. Visually and audibly show that you have in fact reached these hurdles. Even small wins, accompanied by public acknowledgement (a tangible reward, an audible ping, a loud bell), can — in the language of a good video game — move your meeting forward and your organization to a higher level of teamwork and productivity.
2. The wrong people in the room
Take time to ensure that everyone you invite to your meeting has a business-driven need to be there. If some are in the audience unnecessarily, they are not only wasting their own time, but they can also suck energy from those whose attendance is valid.
3. Inviting subject matter experts to present and stopping there
Subject matter experts (SMEs) are critical assets in almost any meeting mix. They have their material down cold. But such deep knowledge of a topic can also be a liability. Audiences tend to tune out SMEs who drone on about a topic in an attempt to communicate all they know
in a short period of time. SMEs’ presentations tend to be more about them and their knowledge base and less about what the audience really wants and needs to succeed. The best way to maximize your SME’s expertise and to honor your audience’s needs: provide presentation skills coaching for your subject matter experts.
4. Speakers who present content that the audience already knows
Because business meetings are so pervasive, many meeting hosts think they can spend precious time discussing facts, figures and initiatives that many or all already know and expect attendees to pay attention. If the material covered is already common knowledge, why should anyone tune in? Under such circumstances, even the least important texts coming in on their phones serve to happily distract from the tedious agenda in the room. What attendees really want, and what will keep them engaged, are:
- Ways to solve their most pressing problems.
- Progressing toward important milestones.
- Getting tools for increased productivity.
- Connecting with others who will make positive differences in their lives.
5. Not taking time to review key concepts
If your meeting participants are not given the chance to revisit and review content periodically throughout the meeting, they may as well have been absent from the meeting. And then all the preparation, education and expense are for naught.
The most cutting-edge brain science proves that whether you’re a meeting planner or a meeting attendee, important takeaways must be repeated to be remembered — within two hours of the first exposure — or you may as well forget it.
Andrea Driessen is the chief boredom buster at No More Boring Meetings! In Seattle. Visit NoMoreBoringMeetings.com or email info@NoMoreBoringMeetings.com for more information.
