Aug
2
Every employee at every company will at some point end up being in a meeting. Meetings can be an essential part of how companies work, yet all too often meetings are seen as a waste of time by staff, as something that is to be avoided and escaped as much as possible. All too often though, it is the same people who don’t want to go to the meetings who turn them into a waste of time of all involved. While there should be an agenda and other such devices to try and keep the meeting on track, it is down to each individual attendee of the meeting to make sure that they stick to what is meant to be discussed, and don’t block the meeting by either changing the topic or avoiding issues or being argumentative, or any of the hundreds of things that can derail a meeting. It is important that people understand that meetings are only a waste of time if they make them so.
People can disrupt meetings in many different ways, ways which may not seem obvious at first. For example, if a meeting is being held to discuss and solve an important issue, the main priority is to solve the issue. If there is someone who is trying to make sure that everyone gets on in the meeting, this can be to the detriment of actually getting issues solved, as the person can stop other people from making suggestions etc. if they think it may cause an issue. Meeting attendees have to be open and honest with each other, otherwise the issues will never get solved.
It is important that any training you provide to staff members does provide at least some basic pointers on how to be productive in a meeting, and how to spot people from hindering meetings.
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