Research from Zippia shows that the average professional spends at least three hours a week in meetings, with about 55 million meetings held in offices around the country. These meetings don’t include the ad hoc discussions that may arise. These spontaneous meetings typically don’t have an agenda, and they may be called to handle urgent requests. However, these gatherings can become frustrating if they’re held too often. If you’re going to gather your team for a quick brainstorm or discussion, make sure you handle it correctly.

We rounded up some helpful pointers from the Range blog and share this wisdom in this
issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

1. Know what you want to discuss. You don’t necessarily need a detailed agenda, but you should structure the meeting with a clear beginning, middle and end. The Range post suggests first checking in with everyone to gauge their thoughts, discussing the issue at hand and then closing.

2. Work toward a clear outcome. If you’re calling your team together and taking them away from their sales activities, make sure you know what you want to achieve with your impromptu meeting. A good idea is to share the purpose of the meeting at the beginning, so everyone starts on the same page, according to the Range post. At the end of the conversation, recap the takeaways and next steps.

3. Keep the meeting brief. Remember that spontaneous meetings shouldn’t take up an exorbitant amount of time. Whether you get your team together on Zoom or in a meeting space, get started quickly and be as direct as possible. The shorter and more direct an unplanned meeting is, the easier it is to keep everyone engaged and involved with the topic — and the results, according to the post.

4. Limit attendees. When you host an unplanned gathering, consider who really needs to attend. Think about what you are trying to achieve and who should be included. Try to keep only key stakeholders involved. The smaller the group, the easier it will be to discuss key issues and make decisions. The post adds that a small group of participants gives you a better chance of maintaining control of the meeting, staying on point and accomplishing the meeting’s goal.

5. Highlight the takeaways. Every workplace interaction should be as efficient as possible —including unscheduled talks. Make sure everyone involved knows their next step. Ask if anyone needs help on their action items or if they’re worried about deadlines. According to the post, this step is crucial to help remind each stakeholder of their role in meeting the goal. It can be helpful to send an email summary of what was discussed.

When you and your team need to sync up, but you don’t have calendar time or a meeting room blocked off, consider the points above to make the most of your discussion. When done correctly, these one-off meetings can be incredibly effective.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: The Range blog. Range is an integrated communication tool for modern teams.