At an organization, your leadership potential and capabilities will be judged by your ability to contribute in meetings. Your participation in meetings and the things you say off the cuff are more important than what you say in a prepared speech or presentation because it is what you do every day. Speaking up in a meeting can help you move up in your career, while holding back can hurt it. Don’t wait till others ask you to contribute to say something. Speak up if you have something to say. But there are also times when you should stay quiet. Here are some tips to help you speak—or not speak—in your next meeting.     When Speaking Up in a Meeting Challenge Yourself

Meetings are an integral part of business life. Whether you’re having difficulty coming up with an action plan, aren’t sure what to do on a project, or want to bounce ideas off of your teammates, scheduling meetings is the default response in most business situations.  Holding a meeting can be the right decision in some cases, but not all. The following are some factors to consider when deciding whether or not to schedule a meeting.   Have You Done Strategic Thinking About the Project?   If you aren’t clear about what you’re doing for a project, you might feel like you want to schedule a meeting with the stakeholders involved to gain clarity. This has the potential to waste your time and that of

You’ve seen it happen before. A group of people convene to have a meeting with the goal of coming to a decision on an important matter. Each person in the group voices their opinion and presents research and recommendations that support their perspective. By the end of the meeting, everyone has heard everyone else out, yet the group still can’t seem to reach a decision.   What should a team do when they have dissected an issue yet still can’t seem to agree on a decision together? Oftentimes, people will just agree to disagree and say, “Let’s just see how it goes,” or conclude that they can come back to the topic at a later time. But this isn’t the right approach. It’s best if everyone that’s

Remote Work Is The Future Large companies like Apple, Amazon, IBM, and Intuit have embraced remote work and its benefits. But that doesn’t mean that remote work doesn’t come with its fair share of challenges. One of the most common complaints about remote work is that it hinders communication and collaboration.   Whether your team is fully remote or some of your employees happen to be working from home on a particular day, running an effective remote meeting is easier said than done. It’s simpler to communicate with people face-to-face because you can gauge their reactions and how they are feeling.   Typically, in-person meetings are perceived as being more productive than remote meetings, but it is possible to have an effective remote meeting with

We’ve all been in meetings that veer off topic or in which participants are unprepared. In order to prevent this from occurring and avoid wasting people’s time, it’s important to start your meetings with a clear agenda. A well-written meeting agenda helps participants come better prepared and stay on task. A meeting agenda is also helpful in allocating time, getting everyone on the same page, and identifying when a discussion of a particular topic is complete. When problems occur during a meeting, a meeting agenda can bring the conversation back on course and help your team address issues. A meeting agenda outlines all of the topics that your meeting will cover and allots time to each topic. The following are some helpful tips for designing an effective