Get off to a Good Start  If you tell your team that you’re about to have a meeting, it’s more likely that you’ll be met with a chorus of groans than delight. One of the main reasons that meetings are held in poor regard is because they are seen as boring and a waste of time. But the problem isn’t meetings in and of themselves—the issue is that many meetings don’t start right. The first few minutes of a meeting set the tone for the rest of the meeting. If you start off the meeting on the wrong foot, people are going to be taken off track or will zone out altogether. Here are some tips for starting meetings in a way that gets and

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