Word on the Street — January 4th thru January 8th

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Effective Meetings

After leaving a meeting recently, I was asked by a friend, “How was your meeting?” To which I responded, “Long, but good.” His response was, “A long meeting is never a good meeting.”

That got me thinking . . . Just how long is too long as it relates to meetings. So I started looking on the web and found some interesting insights.

Ken Thompson from BioTeams.com, a blog related to team dynamics and shared knowhow, says there are 5 Keys to a Perfect Meeting. #2 is something I often fall victim to — telling stories. However, he really doesn’t address the question about the ideal length to a meeting.

So I did another search and found the site Effectivemeetings.com. It even comes with a Meeting Guru who answers your questions. On this site, under the Meeting Basics area, I found a wealth of information. For example, if you follow these basics, you’ll never have to worry about the length of the meeting.

Basics like:

• Have clear objectives and post them for all meeting attendees
• The Clock is GOD in all meetings
• The Golden Rule of Meetings — Praise in public, Criticize in private

. . . and many many more. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Are your meetings effective? What obstacles do you have in place that prevent you from holding successful  meetings?

And if all else fails, here are some creative techniques to entertain yourself during an especially boring meeting:

1. How to Pass Time During a Boring Meeting
2. How to Entertain Yourself During any Meeting

Please share your comments via the blog comment section and have a safe and restful weekend!

–Kevin Carty

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