Level Up Meeting Productivity with Action-Oriented Meeting Agendas

Transcript

1. Level Up Meeting
   Productivity with
   Action-Oriented Meeting
   Agendas
   https://speakerdeck.com/caitlinhathaway
   @CaitlinTheSEO
   Caitlin Hathaway
   MVF Global
   

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2. @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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3. Never again!
   @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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4. Not all meetings are productive!
   We've all been in meetings that were a
   complete waste of time.
   @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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5. What you will learn today:
   - What the meeting productivity landscape looks like
   - How to create an actionable meeting agenda (and a
   template to do this)
   - Best practices and rules to improve your meeting
   culture
   @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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6. @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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7. What does the meeting
   productivity landscape look
   like?
   @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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8. Sensortower
   Since the pandemic started, there has been an explosion of daily users
   on virtual conference apps…
   @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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9. Has the amount of meetings you’re involved with
   changed since the start of Covid?
   @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
   

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10. The Economist
    This came with increased number of meetings, and more attendees per
    meeting…
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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11. No. of meetings attended per
    week
    Responses
    No. of meetings attended Hours spent in meetings
    On an average week…
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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12. Look familiar?
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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13. @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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14. But are additional meetings helping us to
    thrive?
    Or are they hindering productivity?
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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15. ● 24 billion hours are wasted each year as
    the result of unproductive meetings.
    ● U.S. businesses lose $37 billion a year to
    unproductive meetings.
    ● Only 37% of workplace meetings actively
    make use of agendas.
    Zippia
    The Meeting Productivity Landscape
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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16. @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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17. How
    productive do
    you find the
    meetings that
    you’re involved
    in?
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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18. What is your top
    priority that
    would help make
    your meetings
    more productive?
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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19. How often do you use an agenda in your meetings?
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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20. Creating the meeting
    agenda
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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21. What is a meeting
    agenda?
    A meeting agenda consists of a list of
    topics and action items you’re
    looking to discuss during the meeting.
    - Fellow.app
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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22. Key details
    Agenda topics
    Action items
    Conclusion
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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23. Agendas evolve the ways that meetings are created and structured.
    Structure Collaboration
    Purpose Inclusivity
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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24. Select a cloud-based
    note-taking app to create / host
    your agendas
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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25. Key details belong at the top of the agenda
    Title Date
    Attendees Time Resources
    Key Details Topics Action Items Conclusion
    Preparation
    Objective
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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26. Determining an objective
    A meeting objective is a simple statement that defines the
    desired outcome of the meeting.
    Objectives help you structure the agenda!
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    Objective types typically include:
    ● Planning
    ● Decision-making
    ● Problem-solving
    ● Ideation
    

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27. Planning:
    Plan steps to complete migration project, assign steps to team members and set
    deadlines for the completion of each step.
    Decision-making:
    Decide on if we need to scale up the hiring initiative set forth at the start of this
    year.
    Ideation:
    Brainstorm Q4 campaign ideas for X subcategory.
    Examples of objectives
    Use SMART principle to help create objectives.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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28. How long does it
    take you to prepare
    for a single meeting
    on average?
    No. of Responses
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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29. Make preparation the norm!
    ● Review and contribute
    ● Read all linked materials
    ● Encourage attendees to ask questions ahead of time
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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30. Schedule 30 mins at the end of each day for prep.
    Allocate time for prep
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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31. Qualifying attendees
    1. Attendee is a key decision-maker for the items on the agenda
    2. Has the information needed to move forward on matters
    3. Objective is related to a mutual issue that need to be solved
    4. Can help with implementing the decisions
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    ● Only invite absolutely necessary people!
    ● Avoid duplication (people in same role)
    

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32. Agenda Topics
    Topics are specific items of
    discussion which are related to the
    meeting objective.
    Enables focused, collaborative
    discussion.
    Key Details Topics Action Items Conclusion
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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33. ● Topics are added in before the meeting.
    ● Attendees can review talking points and
    contribute in advance.
    ● Topics are used for note taking during the
    meeting.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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34. Capture important notes
    during the meeting
    After:
    Before:
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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35. Only note the following:
    Do note:
    Decisions
    Results / Outcomes
    Action Items
    Conversation
    Debates
    ✔ Don’t note:
    ❌
    Doc summaries
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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36. Be careful with adding ‘broad’ agenda topics
    Broad, open-ended topics open the door for discussions to go off-tangent.
    Topics that go off-tangent and can be timely (and costly!)
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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37. Tweaks to make topics more focused
    ❌ Avoid:
    Metrics review
    Upcoming tasks
    Q3 hiring plan
    Research new SEO tools
    Discuss the top 3 priority tasks for
    upcoming week
    Review September’s actual KPIs
    against goal KPIs
    Determine budget and timeframe for
    Q3 hires
    ✔ Instead:
    Decide on new SEO tool
    requirements and budget
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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38. Appoint minutes to topics to help the agenda stay on track.
    Tag attendees to a topic to own and discuss in the meeting.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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39. Action Items
    Action items are added in during the meeting!
    An action item is a task that someone
    needs to complete outside of the meeting.
    Key Details Topics Action Items Conclusion
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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40. ❏ [TASK OWNER] will complete [SPECIFIC TASK] by
    [DEADLINE].
    Completion Accountability Action Time-bound
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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41. ❏ [TASK OWNER] will complete [SPECIFIC TASK] by
    [DEADLINE].
    ❏ Luke will grant Leia access to GSC property straight after the
    meeting.
    ❏ Shrek will complete the page quality review and send to
    Fiona by EOD.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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42. Key Details Topics Action Items Conclusion
    Conclusion / Wrap Up
    Always allocate some time at the end for questions / more clarity needed to
    help achieve the set objective.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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43. Copy the template: https://bit.ly/bSEOMeetingAgenda
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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44. Setting meeting rules and
    best practices
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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45. @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    Have any of the following issues occurred in your meetings?
    

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46. Who creates the agenda?
    Organiser’s responsibility:
    Create, structure and distribute the agenda in advance.
    Attendees’ responsibility:
    To review/add to agenda topics beforehand and complete assigned prep.
    👉 The organiser
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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47. Always share agenda in 👏 ADVANCE 👏
    Share the meeting agenda at least 24 hours before the
    meeting.
    The sooner the better!
    Always add agenda to the
    calendar invite:
    Can circulate the agenda
    on:
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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48. Add agenda, objective, and required prep into
    the calendar invite description
    Attach agenda
    link!
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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49. Assigning notetakers
    ● At the start, ask for a volunteer notetaker.
    ● Round-robin - new notetaker per topic.
    ● Choose a different team member to run agenda (if a recurring
    meeting)
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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50. The organiser can share their screen to
    show agenda notes being captured.
    ● Everyone can see what’s being
    written in real-time
    ● Offer feedback on language
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    Improving note taking visibility
    

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51. Sometimes, a meeting isn’t the right
    format to collaborate…
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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52. Types of collaboration include:
    Sharing information
    Gathering answers / feedback
    Updates
    Walkthrough of complex issues
    Recurring meetings
    Discussion
    Sensitive issues
    Decision-making
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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53. Sharing information
    Gathering answers / feedback
    Updates
    Walkthrough of complex issues
    Recurring meetings
    Discussion
    Sensitive issues
    Decision-making
    Meeting Email / Message
    Appropriate formats
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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54. Meetings are often accepted automatically without
    challenging the need or value of.
    Empower attendees to decline the invite if they feel like they can’t see/add
    value to that meeting.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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55. 1. Is there an agenda so I can gain context on the objective and
    topics?
    2. Do I add value by attending?
    3. Am I the right person to attend this meeting?
    4. What else could I use this time for if I declined the invite?
    Saying NO to meetings
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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56. Elon Musk on meeting culture at
    Tesla
    Walk out of a meeting or
    drop off a call as soon as it
    is obvious you aren't
    adding value.
    It is not rude to leave.
    It is rude to make someone stay
    and waste their time.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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57. @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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58. Late meeting starts
    Start on time as scheduled.
    Move any topics belonging to
    absent attendees at the bottom of
    the agenda.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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59. Encouraging more participation from attendees
    Ask for input from everyone
    Call on low contributors
    Ask everyone to add to the
    agenda and own their topic
    Go all the way around the room and let everyone
    add their insight.
    Call on specific people to share their points of
    view.
    Helps encourage them to naturally own and
    talk about their points.
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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60. Always read the
    agenda before
    attending
    Round-robin of
    discussions to
    encourage participation
    Docs are always
    screenshared
    Each participant owns
    1 talking point of
    agenda
    Be ready to contribute
    an update on their
    responsibilities or tasks
    Arrive to meetings with
    talking points or
    potential questions
    Adapt to feedback and create your own best practices
    that work for your team
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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61. After this session, I hope you
    DON’T schedule another
    meeting about meetings… ;)
    Let’s end the meeting madness
    once and for all!
    @CaitlinTheSEO | #BrightonSEO
    

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62. Thank you! :)
    Find my slides: https://speakerdeck.com/caitlinhathaway
    Meeting agenda template: https://bit.ly/bSEOMeetingAgenda
    @CaitlinTheSEO
    Enjoy the rest of BrightonSEO!
    

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