Keys To Successful Meetings

It doesn't take an article in a famous business school magazine to tell us we attend a lot of meetings. Even though we find most meetings marginally productive, take longer than necessary, and some a waste of time, we still attend them. In fact we need meetings for social interactions, for an outlet and validation of our ideas, and because we expect something important, or at least useful, will be presented. Beyond the need, what makes for a satisfying meeting? What do you like about those meetings in which you walk away feeling energized, feeling it was worth the time investment? Was it because the meeting was well organized? Was it that the material was of specific interest to you? Was it that the meeting atmosphere and exchanges were positive and engaging? No doubt, all the above ideas contributed for the success of meeting.

There are three keys to meeting success, process satisfaction, content satisfaction, and psychic satisfaction. When participants believe a meeting will be well run and a process to manage the meeting will be used, there is a positive expectation for the meeting. Without process satisfaction, it is a tough task to gain content satisfaction. No matter the value of the content, if the meeting is not under control, a focus on content is difficult, or not at all. Content satisfaction begins with a useful agenda. The agenda is a roadmap that sets the stage for success in dealing with the contents of a meeting. Without a roadmap, then all paths will arise when the meeting starts, leading to a chaotic, not satisfying, experience.

The first two satisfactions address our left-brain need for order. Psychic satisfaction is clearly a right brain component. With this satisfaction we walk away feeling good about the meeting. If it is missing, we do not feel good about the meeting, even if there is Content satisfaction.