5 Meeting Mistakes that Make You Look Like a Rookie

Meetings and conferences are an integral part of the corporate work culture. From discussing bottom lines to evaluating corporate strategies, employees attend meetings for various reasons. However, organizing team meetings is no simple task and often meetings turn out to be boring, time-consuming and unproductive affairs. To ensure that the meeting you organize goes as planned, you must prepare in advance and avoid the common mistakes team managers tend to make.

Here are 5 meeting mistakes that make you look like a rookie.

Not Setting Out the Objective of the Meeting

Most meetings are called without any clear purpose or objective. Team managers tend to believe that Mondays are a good enough reason to assemble in a conference room and huddle for a quick meeting. What they don’t realize is that meetings take up a considerable time of the day and sitting in a room with nothing consequential to discuss is a waste of time. You must, therefore, always have a clear agenda while organizing a meeting to avoid waste of time and energies.

Drifting From the Topic

A meeting is convened to discuss specific problems, challenges or achievements. By drifting from the topic, you will lose the interest of your audience. Consider a scenario where you are discussing a current project when an attendee voices his/her opinion about a past project. Not only will the meeting get unnecessarily extended, your other attendees will lose their attention. As the inviter, you must quickly turn the focus back on the current topic to keep your attendees engaged during the meeting.

Inviting People Who Should Not Be Attending the Meeting

Team managers, in their excitement to call for a meeting, often invite people who cannot contribute or benefit from it. Invites should be sent to only those who have something to add or learn from the meeting. To ensure this, you must send out the invites to only those team members who should be attending the meeting.

Not Keeping Minutes of the Meeting

A successful team meeting is detailed and well-organized. In some instances, however, the inviter forgets basic things such as taking down the minutes of the meeting and sending them out after the meeting is over. To avoid this, you must assign the task to someone in advance and ensure that the minutes are sent out on time.

Not Working Out the Logistics and Equipment on Time

These days, meetings are not restricted to a small team grouped in a meeting room. With workplaces becoming more mobile, remote workers and team members from other locations need to be a part of the meetings. Technology has made it easier to accommodate people from different locations for meetings. However, technological snarls such as poor connectivity and inaudibility can prevent you from hosting the meeting. You should, therefore, check all the equipments in advance and prepare yourself for the meeting to avoid unnecessary hassle.

These simple tips will help you plan your next team meeting. Just stay organized and prepared to host the meeting with confidence.

Towanna B. Freeman is the founder of Black Life Coaches Network, the leading life coaching site that connects African-Americans who are seeking valuable life changing advice and strategies with practitioners who can deliver just that.