Meeting with Meaning

A Quick Guide to Meaningful Preparation for a Meeting

As a busy professional, you've probably had one of those days where it feels like there are an endless amount of meetings. This feeling is especially true if you are working remote, because you may have to schedule a meeting just for a quick chat with a coworker!

Because the meetings pile up, it can feel like all you are able to do you is bounce from meeting to meeting and simply show up.

I thought it might be a good time to reflect on the idea of meeting with meaning. That means taking just a few minutes before a meeting to reflect and prepare. Even just taking the time to decide the main goal of the meeting will save you time and result in a more successful conversation overall.

Here are a few things to consider to prep for your meeting:

• What is the goal of the meeting? This might seem like an obvious question to consider, but often times we go into a meeting with a vague idea of the goal rather than a concrete goal. A concrete goal is one that can be clearly stated and understood by all participants of a meeting. When you consider the goal of the meeting, think specifically about what you want to discuss and accomplish. Do you need approval or permission to proceed? Are you looking for unanimous buy-in? Who do you expect to do what, and by when? These are just a few of the considerations you can reflect on to define a goal for a meeting.

• What is most important to each attendee? I especially like this question because it requires you to think about the meeting from other participants' perspectives. If someone from accounting is hopping on the call, what do you think is most important for them to know? If a rep from legal will be joining, what additional information should you be prepared with? If it's important to the group that you are presenting findings and making recommendations, what do you think they will ask? It's natural to reflect on what you want to tell others, but considering what you think everyone else wants to know during this meeting is just as important!

• What is your opening statement? Whether you're leading a meeting or a participant, it is important for you to prepare an introduction to yourself as well as to the topics you want to cover. I first like to make sure everyone on the call knows each other and facilitate introductions if needed, and then clearly state my name, my role, and the goal of the meeting from my perspective. I will follow up by stating the one or two main topics I want to cover, and then invite others to share what they'd like to cover as well. With this method, you immediately set a productive tone for your meeting.

So much of growing as a professional is just taking the extra few minutes to reflect, prepare, and proceed with purpose. I hope that these quick tips help you prepare for productive conversations and enable you to meet with meaning.

Be Great,

Jada Davis

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