Meetings get a bad rap. In too large a dose, they feel like a waste of time, especially because most meetings are run poorly, and often are objectively a waste of time.
And because we’re all in so many meetings, we never have the time to prepare and ensure those meetings are actually effective. Which then requires more meetings.
But a well run meeting is hard to beat in terms of value. The problem, I think, has to do with the fact that most people treat a meeting, especially one involving a presentation, as a chance to talk at the group, to deliver facts, to show they’re prepared.
But often the insight people want out of a meeting is not the facts, but what should be done with the facts. Instead of giving a presentation about why the sales are growing, offer insight into why. And how that can be replicated in the future.
This seems like common sense, but it’s hard to pull off. Hard because it requires a true understanding of the content. And hard because it requires some risk in taking a stance.
Yet that is ultimately the point of having the meeting at all. Not to deliver your message and escape unscathed. But to come together to solve a problem.