Productivity in meetings

A while ago, I stumbled across an article on my Twitterfeed called "7 reasons people hate being in meetings with you" in PR Daily. While I was at first offended by the title, it secured my attention and I clicked on the bitly link to open it. I'll cut to the chase; here are the 7 reasons:

1. You have no agenda.
2. You talk at them, not with them. 
3. You barrage them with data.
4. You're overly familiar. 
5. You look at your phone, not at them.
6. You talk over people.
7. You talk just to show you have value, even when you don't. 

Pretty comprehensive list, huh? Although this advice all sounds pretty obvious, it resonates with me very well. As a former intern at a company with a lot of meetings, Mojo TA who has 3 meetings/week and an involved student, I've experienced those and a few more. Here are some more awkward happenings that take away from overall productivity. 

Starting too immediately. 

Even though there is usually a meeting agenda, an uncomfortable situation can arise if you get to the details too quickly. If the meeting begins with the cold, hard dissemination of information immediately after sitting down, it is never effective. Take a very brief amount of time (2-3 minutes) to establish rapport between the group before getting down to business; it will make a difference. Whether it's the weather or current events, chat about something.

Make introductions when necessary
If you're in a group where everyone doesn't know everyone else or credibility needs to be established, don't be afraid to wrap around and review names or titles. It helps when answering questions later. 

Too personal too soon

The author's point on familiarity addresses this, saying "Too personal- working with people you know and people you don't know in the same room. Don't cut the boundaries and be too familiar." This is especially difficult when working with a group where you are already acquainted with some people and not at all acquainted with other team members.

Consider this situation. You're in a large group project and your roommate happens to be in the same group. At a break in time, you guys talk about everything that happened at dinner last night. The rest of the group, despite or not if they care, still has to listen and feels closer to you than ever expected. Be careful about personal talk if you want to get things done. 

Interrupting people
You'd think everyone has learned this by now, but that is definitely not the case. Even if you have something to say, watch the body language to assure that the person speaking appears to finish their thoughts before being the interrupter. 

Adding value

I'm trying out the whole speak when spoken to thing this semester, and so far it's going decently well. You'll appear more credible if you contribute when you have a strong, developed point - instead of speaking to agree and attempt to make yourself credible.