In the last post we looked at what training should be. In this post I will focus on two key elements to training: Agenda and Structure.
I saw a t-shirt once that said, I survived another meeting that should have been an email. (I am going to get it, I think.) But how can we avoid death by meeting?
It should go without saying: If you don’t have a compelling agenda, cancel the meeting. People will love the free time that just opened up in the schedule. More will get done. Get in the habit of asking yourself, “Does this really need to be a meeting?” Don’t just hold your meeting because its Thursday morning and that is what we do.
But if you do think you need the meeting, the next question is how long should it be?
Have you ever wondered why a lot of meetings are in half hour increments? Technology is great and we do need to be efficient, so we rely upon the scheduling defaults from Outlook, Google Calendar, etc., resulting in meetings that are usually in half hour or hour-long increments.
This isn't inherently bad, except for when I see people “padding” agendas to “fill out the time.” Instead of this habit, take a look at what you want to get accomplished and determine the correct length.
Many people create an agenda but their main focus for the meeting is simply to cover everything on the agenda.
This, too, is incorrect thinking. We need to take each item one at a time, and not move on until
we are sure everyone in the room knows what we are looking for – and why. This last part is so important.
Let's say you have 10 items to cover on an agenda. It is more beneficial and efficient if you only cover the first few items, and do so thoroughly, than to cruise through and say, “We covered all of it”. By conducting a meeting on cruise control, you will inevitably end up having to bring everyone back in, meaning you have not really saved the time you thought you had. Instead, it is preferable to over-communicate the first time round and then “check in” with the team.
Finally, when you have covered an item and you think you are done, ask one of the attendees, “OK, what do you think we just discussed?” When you get an answer, pick another attendee in the room and ask them if they agree that that is what we're doing.
This is simple but profound. It creates meaningful dialogue and drives home impact, covers repetition for learning and allows the group to hear their peers repeating the message.
Next post we will share the power why…