6 ways to end a meeting as soon as possible and get results

Make sure the goal is clear

Instead of saying, "Let's get the whole office together at 11 am," ask yourself, "What do we want to achieve?"

You absolutely need to know why you are hosting this meeting at all:

to generate an idea;
to make a decision;
to complete a deal;
to answer questions about the upcoming changes.

Maybe you suit it:

to listen to complaints from employees (should this be done in a group meeting format?);
to once again discuss what has already been decided;
to do something that can be discussed or resolved by phone or email.

Don't have large gatherings

Use the great "two pizza rule" and don't invite too many people to the meeting. You need to create a team, each person in which is in his place. Therefore, the meeting should be attended by as many people as you can feed two pizzas.

How to Conduct Meetings: The Two Pizza Rule

The point is not only to feed everyone who came to the meeting. Large groups of people cannot make decisions effectively. There is even a concept. It occurs in large groups of people, when individuals cannot express their own opinion due to fear of condemnation from colleagues and leaders. Small groups are more convenient from this point of view. Therefore, they are more effective.

Time first, then timer

Latecomers are very annoying and distracting. Teach them to come on time.

If they don't value their time, they won't value everyone else's time either.

Do this as follows.

Set up a meeting time for, say, 08:48. Surprisingly, this move will work, and people will start arriving to be on time. As for those who are late, you need to teach them to pay for it. And not money. Let, for example, sing. Penalties like these work much better than monetary penalties. Within a month you will forget how the singing of your subordinates sounds.

And, of course, train yourself to set a timer. For each speaker, if any, and for the entire meeting in general. This way the meeting won't drag on, and you will know what you have spent every minute.

Chairs must be right

The way people sit in the hall is also of great importance:

sitting in a circle is useful for cooperation, discussion, general decision-making;
sitting in rows is useful if you need to spur competition and the desire to compete with colleagues.

If you need to have a quick and highly productive meeting, move all the chairs out of the room. Numerous studies show that the longer we stand, the more twitchy we get. I want to take it right away and make a decision as soon as possible. Plus, standing for a while can be good for your health.

Remove laptops and phones

Otherwise, you will be constantly distracted. Both you and your coworkers need to get things done as quickly as possible and end the meeting. So stop staring at your smartphone screen. Instead, get out a pen and a piece of paper. Information is much easier to remember.

The agenda was not created "for show"

You really have to work on it. Most meetings are unproductive because the agenda is discussed endlessly. Try to formulate the agenda in the form of a question instead of stating the problem.