Being productive and proactive is how you succeed as a worker and in business. When it comes to meetings, the more productive the better, and yet, approximately half the time spent delegated to meetings is not spent productively. If you want to get things done and if you want to increase team performance, you need to improve your meetings’ productivity. Here are five tips and tricks that you need to implement if you want to hold a successful business meeting:

Like anything, your meeting needs to have a goal. There are things that you need to discuss, things you need to be updated on, and things you need to decide on. Not only should you create a detailed agenda for the meeting on every topic that you need to cover, you should also send it in advance to those who will be attending the meeting. Have them prepare points, thoughts, and information on each point ahead of time so that the meeting can be productive and nuanced.

Set aside time for each point, and then keep to that timeframe to talk about it. Things can always be followed up afterwards or discussed further at a later date. To have a truly successful meeting, however, you will be realistic on the time you have beforehand. You don’t want your meetings to go on for too long, else you risk losing the attention of your attendees. Be realistic, and stick to the time.

Getting off topic is a sure-fire way to make a meeting run on too long or not get through all the topics that you had planned. Appoint a meeting organiser who makes sure that people stay on track. When a good point, that is not on topic, is made, acknowledge that it is a good point, but ask that they write it down so that it can be returned at a more appropriate time.

Prepare for the meeting the day before and ensure that the necessary documents that provide the key information are up to date, printed off and collated as required. To be truly professional get custom presentation folders from Showcase Creative. Include blank sheets of paper within the folders to allow notes to be taken by the attendees. If you prepare efficiently, there is no reason for the meeting to be stalled or delayed by a lack of information. Professionalism begets professionalism. Be prepared for the meeting and require that those attending are also prepared.

When people feel like they are personally involved, they pay attention. Encourage participation from everyone. To keep time short, it is suggested that you encourage every participant to have points to make ahead of time. For instance, you can have a google document where people submit comments and ideas beforehand.

Meeting are crucial to all businesses, where decisions are made and new ideas arise. They need to be productive, add value, and educate. Keeping on track is the goal of any meeting, but being prepared and including everyone are the lesser known secrets to holding a successful meeting.