Running a Project Meeting

Here are some great steps to follow for running a great project meeting –Have Clear Objectives For The Meeting – Every project manager has been a simple teammate once. Thus, it is not far fetched to assume that every project manager has attended at least one meeting where the leader rambled on for hours and the meeting stretched on without any aim or motive. This is a classic example of a meeting that lacks objectives. Therefore, before setting the meeting, the objectives of meeting should be clear in the project manager’s mind. This would ensure that no one’s time is wasted and the meeting actually leads to great results.

Plan The Meeting Agenda Properly – It is often prudent to set an agenda for the meeting. The project manager must circulate this agenda to all the people who would be attending the meeting and this activity should be done at least 2 days in advance. Thus, everyone would have ample time to prepare for the meeting and clear out their schedules. An important part of project management planning is ensuring everyone knows what is expected of them right from the start. Some managers just give their teammates half an hour before the meeting and this is wrong. No one would be prepared and on top of that, the meeting might be delayed as people try to accommodate their previous engagements. A timely meeting agenda solves all these problems.

Have Short Meeting Papers – A huge pillar of every team meeting is motivation. When the speaker starts to lose the attention of people, it means that the meeting is already a failure. The most common reason for this is a mountain of project papers at the meeting. Experts always recommend to have just one page for every paper. This would also ensure that the resources of the organization are not getting wasted. Plus, it would be easier to digest concise information. It is also recommended to have a basic template for people to use during meetings.

Make Sure That The Right People Are Attending The Meeting – Of course, the core project team attends the meeting and the project manager takes care of everything. However, there are some meetings that are more important than the others. These are those meetings that involve decision making at a higher level. Thus, if such a meeting is planned, the project manager should ensure that the relevant people who have the authority to make decisions regarding the project are present at the meeting. Otherwise, there would be no point to the discussions and the relevant points would all have to be repeated at a later date in front of the decision making person.

Ensure That Everyone Is Comfortable In The Meeting Room – This might not seem like an important factor but when team members are uncomfortable, their concentration slips. To avoid this, the project manager should plan the meeting in a room with proper air conditioning (during the summer months), comfortable chairs and other basic amenities. If the meeting is being held during the evening, there should be provision for some refreshment like tea, coffee, and biscuits.

Always Stay On Schedule While Running a Meeting – For a project meeting, especially an important one, people should clear their schedule 30 minute before and after. This is to ensure that if the meeting runs late, no one would be suffering. Also, project managers should do their best to ensure that the meeting starts and ends on time. This can be achieved by having a good plan for the meeting and also keeping some time aside for slippage. Every point of discussion should have a set time for the meeting to be on schedule.

Project managers who train from Parallel Project Training are equipped to deal with whatever their job throws at them. It is a must for project managers to have proper education and nobody understands this better than PPT. After all, they have about 30 courses every month and their training is spread across 21 countries, including USA, UK and the Middle East. With the help of state of the art learning tools, experts, training professionals and teaching gurus, PPT has established a name for itself. Any manager who wants to make a mark on the industry must undertake a course with PPT.