Top tips on how to run an effective meeting

 
I am sure that you have sat in a meeting wondering why you are there. Or perhaps you’ve been in a meeting where the communication is one-way, where you don’t understand what’s going on and it’s highly likely that most other people in the same meeting feel the same way. Or perhaps you have been frustrated about how poorly the meeting has been organised. This blog article will help stop you making the same mistakes for when you come to run your meetings.
 

Why is this topic important?

In 2023, HR Magazine quoted surveys stating the following:

• 55% of UK office workers said they waste to much time in meetings, whilst 81% were confident that shorter meetings would achieve the same outcomes. 
• 57% of workers only have one useful meeting a week.
• Waffling (59%),too much small talk (48%),late joiners (31%) and people not paying attention (31%) were the worst culprits for time wasting.
• 53% said they attend too may disengaging and poorly structured meetings. This figure rises to 75% for remote workers.

The impact of poorly organised and poorly run meetings is clearly damaging levels of productivity and employee engagement. So, here’s our advice on how to make your meetings more efficient and productive.

Re-think your approach to running meetings

Re-think your meeting by dividing each meeting into 3 parts:

• Before
• During and
• After

Now let’s take each part in turn, exploring what needs to happen to make your meetings efficient and effective.

Before your meeting

 
This is all about preparation. Ask yourself these questions:

• What is the purpose of the meeting?
• Who needs to attend?
• How can I get them to be ready to contribute to the meeting?
• Be honest with yourself – is the meeting actually needed? If it is information sharing only, then why do you need to have the meeting? Meetings should be about discussion, problem solving and resolution and not just for checking off what’s been done and what hasn’t.

When preparing your meeting, don’t overlook housekeeping questions such as:

• Start and finish times.
• Location (including login details if the meeting is to be online) and room set up.
• Meeting materials e.g. flip chart paper, pens and any IT connectivity.

In summary, this is about creating a meaningful agenda and providing this is good time so that people can prepare.

Make sure that the agenda is circulated well in advance, drawing attention to any pre-reading or other preparation that is required.
 
Always remind people to arrive on time and logged-in (both mentally as well as physically) to the meeting starts promptly and purposefully. Ask them the be ready from the get-go.
 

During the meeting

 
Welcome everyone and make sure everyone has a copy of the agenda. Make sure that all attendees are focused on what is going to be discussed.
 
If people are late in arriving, start the meeting without them. Be the change you want to see. Of course, you don’t want people to feel humiliated if they arrive late. However, they will need to feel some pain about failing to arrive on time, whilst honouring those would arrived on time.
 
Make the meeting engaging by involving everyone. Invite challenge so to avoid groupthink. Great minds don’t think alike – they think differently.
 
Review your action points from the previous meeting. Keep a tally of action points cleared and those to be carried forward. I suggest introducing a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) e.g. 8 out of 10 action points cleared gives a 80% performance. What get measured gets done.
 
If people stray off the agenda, then politely bring them back. However, don’t dismiss their point. Instead, record their point on a flipchart or elsewhere to either return to the topic later (as any other business) or to include as a future agenda item. Some people refer to this technique as parking an issue.
 
Managing a meeting is a control process. However, it needs to be done with sensitivity and a high degree of emotional intelligence. Reading body language is required along with be able to understand the different personality types that exist. For example, those with a preference for extraversion may be quite talkative and thinking out load. However, those with a stronger preference for introversion may want to reflect on what has been said before responding. This ‘thinking time’ can easily be mistaken as not participating, which may not be true. Chairing a meeting is very much about facilitation skills, yet keeping the meeting on track, on topic and on time.
 
At the beginning of the meeting ask a colleague to make notes – that is, unless detailed minutes are specifically required, action points. Use three simple headings of What, Who and By When. This is a task to be delegated as doing this yourself will only distract you from managing the meeting. And of course, recording action points is a role that can be rotated amongst other colleagues at future meetings.
 
At the end of the meeting, ask your colleague to summarise and run through the action points. This will ensure that everyone is clear about who is doing what and by when. Let people know that the action points will be reviewed as the first agenda item at the following meeting. This will sharpen accountability – especially if you introduce the KPI as mentioned above.
 
Close the meeting by thanking everyone for their participation and contributions. If appropriate, inform everyone of the date, time and venue of the next meeting.
 

After the meeting

 
Follow up action is needed to ensure that drift is avoided. Ask your colleague who has recorded the action points to issue these within 2 hours of the meeting closing.
 
Review your meeting by asking:

• What went well?
• What could have gone better?
• What differences could be made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the meetings going forward?

This will help you seek continuous improvement.
 

Summary

 
Time is money, and costing out the time spent in meetings can be frightening. However, when meetings are well run, they are very productive i.e. on track, on topic and on time.
 
Paul Beesley
Director and Senior Consultant, Beyond Theory
28 May 2025
 
 
Related blog articles:
 
Groupthink – what it is and how to avoid it
Time management – use the Pareto Principle to priorities your priorities
Time management tips – being busy is not the same as being productive
Listening to understand rather than listening to respond
Communication Skills - listen to what is not being said as well as what is being said