Organizing an effective meeting is not something you can improvise. A good meeting relies on rigorous preparation and clear facilitation, but also on the ability to challenge their usefulness and consider more effective alternatives. To boost productivity and strengthen team commitment, here are the best practices to adopt.

Effective meeting preparation

An effective meeting starts before you even enter the room - or log on. All too often, meetings are poorly prepared or even improvised. This lack of anticipation wastes time, creates confusion and can disengage participants. 

Start by asking yourself some simple questions: Why bring these people together now? What is the concrete objective we want to achieve together?

Take time to prepare for this exchange. To do this, think about :

• Clarify the objective: make a decision, solve a problem, share a key piece of information or settle a tense issue. This initial clarity saves time - and strengthens participants' commitment.
• Invite the right people. Avoid default invitations. Invite only those directly concerned. A meeting is not an automatic inclusion tool, but a lever for targeted action. For example, for a product meeting, there's no point inviting the whole marketing team if only two members are concerned by the launch.

Finally, a good invitation to a meeting is :

• A clear title: short, to the point and highlighted in the invitation.
• A structured agenda: to be defined according to priorities. Use the funnel method, starting with general topics and ending with more specific points.
• And if possible, a preparatory document (shared note, memo or summary e-mail) to help everyone arrive ready, and make the meeting a real time for collective work.

Structuring exchanges

Once the participants have gathered, whether in person or online, it is important to structure your interactions. Here are a few tips:

Start with clear communication: 

• Take care with your opening message: set clear expectations, reiterate objectives and be precise. Depending on the context, adopt a leadership posture by expressing yourself in the first person: use "I".
  
  
• Set clear rules for participation: turn to speak, virtual or physical raising of hands. Use a "time-keeper " to manage speaking time and avoid overrunning schedules. For online meetings, a good technical setup is essential: camera on, good quality microphone, calm environment, neutral background...
  
  
• Take care of your posture : 95% of our communication is non-verbal. This involves simple gestures: line up your gaze, stay in front, master your facial expressions and pay attention to what you're saying.

Then keep the participants' attention:

• Don't hide behind your slides! Your presentation support is not self-supporting : it should accompany your speech, not replace it. Each slide should convey a clear message, contain elements to be commented on, and key words to support your speech.
  
  
• The moderator needs to know how to rephrase, relaunch, frame and encourage people to speak up. A good practice might be to integrate people directly: "Julie, did you want to react?", "Marc, what's your point of view on feasibility? The aim is to bring out points of agreement or misunderstanding, so that everyone leaves with a clear head.
  
  
• At a distance, interaction needs to be even stronger to maintain participants' attention. Use virtual rooms for sub-groups, document discussions in real time (via a shared Google Doc, for example), and ensure the same conditions for participation as in a face-to-face meeting: equal speaking time, visualization of materials, active facilitation.

In hybrid meetings, nothing should be left to chance: anticipate the technical conditions (clear microphones, cameras switched on, shared screens visible to all...), and rely on collaborative tools that can be accessed remotely. Without these, online participants quickly lose interest or feel left out. The aim: to keep everyone, whether in the meeting room or remotely, focused and engaged throughout the meeting.

Anticipating what comes next

An effective meeting should end with a clear, shared action plan : who's doing what, for when, with what deliverables, and through what follow-up channels? Formalizing these elements orally at the end of the meeting is often enough to clarify the next steps.

This closing moment is all too often sacrificed, especially when the meeting runs over 10 minutes. And yet, it's the moment that makes the difference between a useful meeting and a waste of time. As with good feedback, this final framing helps to clarify decisions, avoid grey areas and transform discussion into concrete action.

To ensure proper follow-up, centralize information in a shared, well-structured document that's easily accessible to everyone. You can assign tasks, leave comments and track progress in real time. It's simple, but highly effective in preventing information and actions from being forgotten.

Challenging meetings

In many teams, the company meeting has become a default reflex. 

Want to move forward? Mark a point. Need to pass on information? Set up a call.
Result: agendas explode, fatigue sets in, productivity suffers.

But in many cases, asynchronous communication is a far more effective alternative:

• For top-down information, a 5 to 10-minute Loom video recording can be used to convey a message in a clear, reusable and non-intrusive way. Everyone can consult it at their own pace, without overloading their diaries.
  
  
• Voice memos are another useful option, ideal for providing context quickly or conveying urgent instructions. Example: a project manager can send a voice note to his team with key customer details before a sales meeting.
  
  
• Memos and COPIL are also powerful tools for structuring collective thinking. They force everyone to clarify their ideas beforehand, avoid unproductive recording meetings and limit excessive use of slides.
  
  
• Finally, the internal newsletter is an excellent alternative. Structured and distributed at regular intervals, it enables you to keep your staff informed without spending time in meetings. Choose a publication with a fixed frequency, short and clear - a title, a priority, a summary text - for example, every three days.

Saying no: 

Saying no with kindness also means proposing solutions. For example:
- "I'm not available tomorrow, but send me a summary and I'll get back to you in writing."
- "I'm not the right person for this subject, but Luc will probably be able to help you."

Saying no is not being uncooperative. It's about protecting your energy, your priorities and your focus. Accepting all invitations may seem engaging, but it's often the best way to spread yourself too thin and lose sight of what's essential.

Here are a few ways to get ahead of your schedule:

• Set aside some time for meetings, and others for background work.
• Use a tool like Calendly to set a clear framework around your availability.
  
  

Don't forget: refusing a meeting isn't about avoiding it. It's about making conscious choices to preserve your attention and lighten your mental load. Above all, it's about giving yourself the time to do what really matters.

Company meetings are a powerful tool... provided they are used wisely. Fewer, better-prepared, faster-paced meetings: effective meetings enhance the value of collective time.

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