They don’t have agendas -few attendees are sure why they are there and what their role is, so they are not prepared.

Meetings go adrift when they don’t have a structure (an agenda) – people may know why they’re at the meeting, but they don’t know what their role is or the goal of the meeting. Therefore, make sure all attendees know the goal upfront.

A lack of preparation leads to unproductive meetings – you’ve got to do the work before the meeting – the work of developing and distributing a time-based agenda to all attendees at least 1 day before the meeting.

Meetings last too long – they meander because there’s no guide or time-based agenda. Meetings can be one of the most expensive endeavors in a company. If you have 5 employees in a meeting whose salary equals out to $200/hr, that’s a $1,000 meeting. Make sure you’re using every minute wisely.

Have a time-based agenda – people should know what each timeslot in the meeting is allotted for and who is responsible for each item on the agenda. Use the agenda as a forcing mechanism to ensure all the topics are coveredin a meeting.

The agenda is the authority to keep people honest (it doesn’t have to be you) – if someone is getting off-topic on weekend plans or didn’t bring the necessary information, you can refer to the agenda as an enforcement mechanism without being overbearing.

Use the agenda to let participants know what they need to bring – everyone should know what information they need to come with to accomplish the goal of the meeting. This should be outlined in the agenda distributed ahead of time. Send the agenda out at least a day ahead of time.

The agenda allows for newly raised topics to gain the attention they do or do not deserve—often in meetings an important topic will come up but it’s not relevant to that meeting. Using the time-based agenda allows you to make a separate list 9or “parking lot”of these topics so they can have their own focused meeting in the future.

Use the last ten minutes of the meeting to assign the next steps – this is key to ensuring the meeting is productive—assigning specific next steps to a specific person that is due on a specific date.

Follow the FIRST™ communications framework when running a meeting:

• ASK – put the ask upfront

• Background – follow up by providing context to your ask

• Support – support your ask using data

• Next Steps – set timely and measurable next steps

Write down the next steps – you should have a written document to reference so there aren’t any misunderstandings.

Use the last ten minutes of the meeting to assign out next steps:

• Assign them to a specific person – make sure everyone knows who will be responsible for the outcome.

• Set a specific and measurable goal – the deliverable needs to be specific and measurable so that all parties are squared away on what it is.

• If relevant, specify the date and time due – don’t just give a date, give a time. If you say “Have this done on the 18th,” that could mean 11:59 PM or 9:00 AM.

Use a time-based agenda – give each topic an exact amount of time so that everyone knows what we should be talking about at any given moment.

Track the time with a watch, timer, or even an hourglass – this way the whole room sees the time passing and it’s not as threatening as putting up a timer.

Have a ‘parking lot’ for ancillary ideas – if someone mentions a good idea that’s outside the agenda of the current meeting, write it down. Now you’ll have something to refer to when putting together the agenda for the next meeting.

We believe the best communications happen in person. If that's not possible, online—Zoom, Webex, etc—is an effective and efficient alternative.

During the program we will cover case studies and relevant “real world” examples. After the program you and your team will have access to Writing templates, Presentation key principles, and Meeting “Best practices”.

Depends on your team, your role, and the functions you perform for your organization. Contact Us and we will develop the optimal program for you and your team.

Absolutely, after every session we are on call and available for 1 month to support you or your team. We don’t succeed unless everyone improves their communications by adopting the FIRST™ Communications skills and behaviors. It takes 3 weeks to adopt a new behavior. We will be with you for 4.

NalesEd™ partners with Credly to administer digital badges exclusively to Program attendees. Why a Digital Badge?

It visibly demonstrates a commitment to all employees (current and future), as well as their and the firms success.

1. Being recognized, via a digital badge, for the skills earned on the job is an effective way to encourage all employees to keep growing and show initiative. These credentials can be shared through learning portals and professional social networks like LinkedIn, and can even encourage healthy competition.

2. By offering training and development on the job, and then issuing digital credentials as proof of that learning, employees will join a network of qualified who can learn and adapt to whatever jobs are needed, enhancing their value to themselves and their organization.

3. Enhancing human skills like writing, presentations and meeting management provides increased security as these skills increase each employee’s ability to quickly and seamlessly transition to management.