It’s not the meeting itself that is bad.  It’s the lack of planning, collaboration, timelines and follow through that can leave your team lacking interest in your meetings.

The 5 Meeting Essentials:

a) Prepare an agenda that people can review beforehand.

b) Appoint a note taker – they create a recap of the meeting to be sent to participants.

c) Identify actions – if there are topics on the agenda your team should be preparing to contribute to, let them know.

d) Record new rules or processes in writing.

e) Allocate next steps – any action items need to be allocated and attached to the person responsible.

Now that your meeting is well organized, you are ready to add in emotional intelligence to enhance participation. Consider these personality insights when planning and conducting your meetings.

The Organized Personality Style likes to know the details of what will be discussed and what information you’d like them to bring.  This personality style likes to be prepared and to know how much time will be allocated to discussions.

The Relationship Personality Style likes when a team is encouraged to work together in a positive manner. This personality style likes cohesive relationships with the entire group.

The Action Personality Style likes to keep the conversations on point and moving quickly. This personality style enjoys tossing out ideas in a fast-paced meeting with less attention to tiny details.

The Logical Personality Style likes the opportunity to review an agenda before a meeting so they can think and prepare. This personality style may not ‘jump into’ the middle of a conversation but instead listens and weighs out all the input before determining what they believe to be the best next step.