Cut Your Meeting Time in Half

13 years, 4 months ago - December 13, 2012

People often set meetings for an hour because their calendars default to that time period. But you may need far less time to accomplish your work. Try these three measures to shorten your meeting:

Stand up. Most people won’t linger on an issue if their feet hurt. Remove chairs from the room. When standing, people are often more attentive and engaged.
Use a timer. Designate an allotted time for each agenda item and set a stopwatch or the timer on your phone. When time is up, assign next steps and move on.
Show the cost of the meeting. At the top of the agenda, show the calculated hourly cost of having the group together. When people realize how much a meeting costs the company, they are more apt to be efficient.

Text by Harvard Business School Publishing

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