5 Key Agreements for More Effective Business Meetings

In today’s fast-paced corporate environment, many business meetings serve as complex and demanding decision-making forums. If you spend time in business meetings, you’ve likely noticed a paradox: you must prepare exhaustively for every conceivable outcome while also being ready to improvise in the moment.

Understanding Meeting Dynamics

You may have experienced three very different types of meetings:

1. The Amphitheatre

This arena is filled with politics, personal agendas, and egos. These meetings typically do little to foster fellowship and business growth. In such environments, you might witness:

– Conflicting interests and agendas.

– Suspicion, doubt, and confusion.

– One-upmanship.

– Ambiguity and vagueness.

– Every word and intention under intense scrutiny.

Meetings like these can lead to professionals dreading the monthly interrogation; sorry, I meant meeting.

2. The Graveyard

As grim as the amphitheatre sounds, some meetings lack engagement and excitement altogether. They often become deathly boring, filled with the same people discussing the same issues. Energy, focus, and imagination are generally absent.

These meetings are characterised by dominance from one or two voices, focusing either on trivial matters or wishful thinking, leading to unproductive sessions.

3. The Party

In contrast, I enjoy meetings where positive collaboration happens. The “party” meetings are highly effective and a pleasure to attend. Here, you’ll find:

– Clear and charismatic leadership

– Vision and clarity

– Respect, integrity, camaraderie, and unity

– Empathy

– Imagination

– Openness

– Productivity

Participants in these meetings understand that professionalism doesn’t mean being deadly serious all the time. Every organisation would love to be in this group but may be deluded in thinking they already are.

Creating a Positive Meeting Environment

If your company meetings are somewhere between the amphitheatre and the graveyard, but you’d like  the characteristics of the “party,” it may be time for your team to agree on some foundational agreements:

1. Leave Your Ego at the Door:

Everyone should commit to putting the business’s interests above personal appearances or agendas.

2. Listen More Than You Speak:

It’s crucial to genuinely listen to your colleagues, setting aside judgments and assumptions.

3. Aim for Win-Win Outcomes:

Move away from a mindset of competition. Foster collaboration and empathy as you interact.

4. Get to the Point:

Encourage everyone to respect each other’s time by being concise and to the point.

5. Acknowledge Common Humanity:

Remember that despite different roles and pressures, we all share common ground and experiences.

Implementing Your Agreement

Before your next meeting, have a conversation with the person who called it. Discuss these agreements and get their permission to apply them. Write these agreements on a flip chart for all attendees to see and agree upon.

The goal is to create enjoyable and productive meetings. If you’re the one calling the meeting, give it a try yourself and observe the difference it makes.

If you need help presenting more effectively in business meetings:

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

Photo by José Martín Ramírez Carrasco on Unsplash