When we run trainings on Meeting Management, one of the common themes that comes up is, what’s the best way to keep the meeting on track when it strays off the agenda?

Now, for whatever reason, some meeting chairmen find it difficult to keep the meeting to the agenda without it sounding like a schoolmaster being irate with his 10-year-old kids!

As chair, you have a perfect right to rule any discussions out of order, but don’t embarrass yourself or the group. Say something like, “May I ask what’s the connection between this point and the agenda item?” This will probably jog the group back on track, unless what is being discussed is actually more important than the agenda item – in which case, you have to decide whether to change the item or get back on track.

Another attention-grabber might be, “We’ve digressed from the agenda here, so can I ask us to return to it, please?” It will bring the group back to what’s really important.

After the meeting, if you have digressed a number of times, you might ask for the group’s input on how you can avoid digressing from the agenda in the future. If it happens several times, you might want to work out if circulating the agenda and getting agreement before the meeting takes place would be of benefit. This means you are in control of matters before they occur and the responsibility of keeping to the agenda would fall on everybody’s heads.

By keeping to the agenda, you will find that everyone has their questions answered, and the meeting isn’t sidetracked by members trying to set their own agenda, hidden or otherwise!

Thanks again
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

We’ve all been there…the meeting is going ok, then someone takes it off track and you end up spending a long time on subjects that are not part of the agenda and wasting everyone’s time. You need to be assertive and take control. What’s the best way?

Firstly, when you’ve become aware of the digression, simply say, ‘What’s the connection between this subject and our agenda item?’ This will bring the group back to what you were initially discussing and help people to see you’re interested in results and good time-keeping.

If the discussed subject is of importance and still off agenda, you might wish to ‘park’ it for another time, either at the end of the meeting if you have time, or make it the subject of another meeting, but only if it’s really important to do so. You may find some people bring obtuse subjects up simply so they can control the direction of the meeting, or set an agenda for another meeting.

Outside the meeting environment, you might want to raise this tendency to drift off subject sometimes, and get the team’s agreement to stick on the agenda items so the meeting isn’t hijacked.

You also might want to have a quiet word with the people responsible after the meeting, just to ensure they recognise that keeping the meeting on track is for everyone’s benefit.

Remember also to think back on why the meeting might have digressed onto different subjects…maybe not all attendees had agreed to the original agenda, or maybe there are pressing issues that need visiting and you haven’t addressed them efficiently yet. Whatever the reasons, be aware of people’s time and don’t allow the agenda to be ignored.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Why this meeting? Why now?

If you ask people where most time is lost at work, the invariable answer is “meetings that don’t have a point”. So why do we let it happen? What can we do to persuade people that meetings are actually a valuable use of their time, and not another excuse for not getting their reports done on time?

One method that we use to ensure our time is used productively is to ensure all meetings have a ‘PAIR’. This stands for ‘Purpose and Intended Result’.

If your meeting doesn’t have a PAIR, prepare for time-wasting, tangential discussions and few, if any, decisions actually being taken.

Ask yourself: what is the purpose of the meeting, the actual reason it is taking place? Use a verb like ‘to agree on’ or ‘to create an action plan’.

‘To discuss…’ is not an effective purpose, because it doesn’t fulfill the second part of PAIR. It doesn’t help you or the other meeting attendees achieve a result. Have a measurable goal for your meetings. Ensure they are aimed at providing answers that you can only achieve at a meeting.

If you could have got the same result by sending out a report to individuals and then having a meeting to decide on the next actions following the report, then this might be a better reason for meeting.

Look at your next meeting coming up, maybe later today, or immediately after you’ve read this. What’s the purpose? Do you know? Have you been informed? What’s the intended result? Have all attendees been informed?

By insisting that each meeting you run or attend has a PAIR that everyone agrees with, you stand a better chance of achieving your goals and less chance of wasting your time!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”