4 Ways to Make Your Next Corporate Meeting More Effective

Does your company hold unnecessary or drawn-out meetings?

Effective corporate meetings are necessary. Coworkers and management need meetings to ensure their goals are aligned. And people are social creatures, so most of us crave group interaction. But many meetings either are not needed at all or are time-consuming wastes of time.

I’m corporate entertainer & teambuilder Cosmo. My goal with these articles is to help companies maximize their time, hold effective meetings, and foster greater employee retention and satisfaction. Below are a few techniques to make good use of meetings while shaving off time.

Corporate Business Meeting Technique #1: Is It Even Necessary?

Many companies seem to have meetings just to have meetings. It’s baked into the company’s DNA. But many meetings simply aren’t necessary. Determine whether a meeting is needed at all. This starts with understanding the goal of the meeting. What are you trying to accomplish? How much time will you need to achieve that goal?

Maybe your goal is simple. And it can be accomplished via email or other alternate methods. You might only need to call a few coworkers rather than bring the whole team into the meeting.

A Corporate Business Meeting Cautionary Tale

An associate of mine used to have twice-a-week meetings with his team. The meetings always started with a quick update from the team leader and usually included details most of the team needed to know. Fair enough. But from there, each meeting was a time drag.

The team leader would go from team member to team member. She’d solicit updates from each person by asking, “So what’s happening in your world?” And the rest of the team would sit and listen while the member in question updated the leader.

The problem? Most of the information shared by each team member did not affect the others one bit. The result? A meeting that lasted anywhere from 45 minutes to 75 minutes. It cut into everyone’s productivity. And some weeks these meetings would eat almost three full hours out of the work week.

Corporate Business Meeting Technique #2: Who Gets Invited to the Party?

When you are setting up your meeting, determine who needs to be there. Try to invite only those who are needed. Look at your proposed attendees. Are these people directly contributing to the meeting content or direction? If not, can these people be informed of what happened later via email or another method?

By trimming down your meeting attendees to just the minimum, you’re saving a great deal of lost work hours noted above. But there are lost work hours above and beyond the meeting itself. Once you stop what you are doing to join a meeting, your momentum has evaporated. Once the meeting is over, your brain has to recalibrate to get back into the mindset of whatever it was you were working on. The result? Much more than three hours a week were lost to each team member.

And don’t forget the effect the time in a meeting has on employee morale. Companies are still recovering from the effects COVID and the Great Resignation have had on the workplace. Employees are being asked to accomplish more with less time and resources. Pulling these folks out of their daily tasks for a meeting where they are not directly contributing can leave them feeling frustrated or angry. They may spend the meeting thinking to themselves, “I’ve got so much to do today! When is this meeting going to end?” The solution? Invite only those who need to be there.

Corporate Business Meeting Technique #3: Decide on Your Meeting Format

Once you’ve determined you need to have a meeting, you’ll then need to decide how you are going to conduct the meeting. Does this need to be a face-to-face meeting? Or will Zoom or another virtual format suffice? Look at your meeting agenda and decide whether you can hold the event virtually and save yourself (and the attendees) lost time.

In-person meetings eat up more time. Often people are late arriving. Maybe the elevators are slow. Or their offices are farther away from the meeting room, meaning attendees lose more time walking to and from the meeting.

And in-person meetings tend to drag. When people gather, there’s more chit-chat. People have to get settled. Maybe add more cream to their coffee. Whatever. If your meeting is going to be short and sweet, modern technology can help you keep the meeting short and sweet. Instead of the logistics of getting everyone gathered in one area, let your attendees log in and get right to the agenda.

Corporate Business Meeting Technique #4: What Are You Meeting About, Anyway?

Want to save time in a meeting? Have a set agenda. Know in advance exactly what you need to cover. Don’t stray from the mark. Remember, the meeting, necessary though it may be, is an interruption in the daily flow of everyone attending. Cover what you need and no more.

Add Some Fun and Inspiration to Your Next Corporate Banquet or Special Event

The simple tips above can easily help to streamline your next meeting. But what about those events where the point is to bond and blow off steam? Holiday parties, retreats, and hospitality suites are a perfect opportunity for everyone to reduce stress and have some fun. My fun and amazing corporate magic shows are the perfect option for your group! Contact me today for your free, no-obligation information on my jaw-dropping and inspirational magic programs.