Meetings – a necessary evil?

Gotta problem call a meeting? Sounds familiar? Meetings are a necessary evil but it is really important to make sure your meetings are productive and effective, whether it is with 1 person or several people. Too often meetings are unfocused, drag on, have the wrong people at them and achieve very little!

One great tool to use is The PAT Approach …

Purpose: What is the purpose of the meeting? Make sure this is clear, getting this clarity will help you consider whether the meeting is really necessary or if there is an alternative way to achieve the purpose. If you are not the driver of the meeting ask for the purpose.

Agenda: An absolute MUST and the backbone of the meeting -there might only be 2 or 3 items listed but still essential.  It should be distributed in advance of the meeting to all attendees and used during the meeting to keep things on track. If you are not the driver of the meeting ask for an agenda or suggest some items

Time: How long will the meeting last? Make this very clear on the agenda and stick to timings as much as  is possible. If you are not the driver of the meeting ask how long will it last. Otherwise how can you plan your day?

Ensure your meetings become more productive with the focus of the PAT Approach tool…