Three steps to better meetings

Do you have a meeting coming up that you’re dreading?

Maybe you know that a decision needs to be reached but that there will be lots of differing opinions in the room and finding consensus will be challenging.

Maybe you need to bring on board a group of people or organisations who are likely to be sceptical at best, hostile at worse.

Maybe there will be lots of enthusiastic people in the room with buckets of goodwill but you fear getting past the brainstorming and on to the action planning.

Three things that could help.

1. Plan, plan and plan again

It sounds obvious but don’t go in unprepared. Good meetings don’t happen by chance. Often you need to spend more time thinking about how the meeting is likely to pan out and how you can design it accordingly, than you actually spend in the meeting itself. Often using a meeting tool can really help to lend structure and discipline and ensure you reach your outcome (our favourite is Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats).

2. Do your influencing in advance

If you know some ideas are likely to be unpopular or decisions hard to reach, don’t spring any surprises in the meeting. Make sure you’ve prepped the relevant people in advance and begun to understand their concerns or difficulties. Consider the different characters involved. Do they respond best to cold, hard facts or stories and examples? Do they need time to look over data? Do they like to consult different advisers? Tailor how you will present ideas and information accordingly. Here is a useful article to get you thinking.

3. Facilitation

If you’re still concerned, bringing in an independent facilitator armed with skills and tools, has several advantages. If the discussion is likely to be contentious, someone neutral, removed from the emotion, can help to guide the discussion and ensure a sense of fairness and balance. A good facilitator is diplomatic but firm, allowing everyone a chance to speak and preventing one or two voices from dominating. A skilled facilitator can move the conversation on, aware when arguments are being recycled or the group has become fixated on a topic that is easier or more popular to talk about, ensuring the meeting reaches a point where actions or resolution are agreed.

It is often these difficult meetings where wars are won or lost. Investing to ensure they are successful will be worth the time and money in the longer run.