How To Run a Meeting Like a Pro: Strategies and Tips

We don’t schedule meetings to catch up with our colleagues — no matter how much we love their smiling faces. We do it to solve problems, bring the entire team up to speed, or brainstorm future goals. But without a clear agenda, it’s easy to digress into unproductive and ineffective group discussions that require time-wasting follow-ups.

Like any other professional skill, practice makes perfect. Learning how to run a meeting effectively is no different. Here’s a guide to a few key strategies to transform your meetings from idle chatter to purpose-driven, task-oriented sessions.

Understanding the purpose of meetings: What makes a meeting productive?

Face-to-face meetings and phone calls smooth out communication and clarify objectives. But not every discussion warrants a gathering. The first step to managing meetings is understanding when they're truly necessary. 

If you’re unsure, identify your objective — like reaching a consensus about annual pay raise percentages or workshopping ideas for product development. A successful meeting has a clear purpose, engages the right participants, and results in actionable outcomes, even if the outcome includes another meeting. 

Ask yourself whether you can meet your goals with an email, a quick Slack message, or a new assignment in your workflow app. Consider the following: 

• If your goal is to share notes, assign tasks, or give quick updates, stick with a clear email or quick back-and-forth on your Slack channel. 
• If you need to make a decision, solve a complex problem, or engage in strategic planning, send that calendar invite. 

What are the 5 Ps of a meeting?

A simple technique to prepare and lead good meetings is the 5 Ps. Unfortunately, pizza isn’t one of them. Let’s break them down: 

1. Purpose: Every discussion has a specific purpose. Be as detailed as possible. Instead of simply informing participants they’ll be attending a “brainstorming session,” let them know it’s a “brainstorming session for product discovery and development.” 
2. Participants: The act of noting down each participant prompts the meeting organizer to decide who needs to attend and why.
3. Process: Many meetings are set for 30 minutes without much rhyme or reason. Write out the meeting agenda, allocating times and strategies for discussing each item. You might find you need more or less time to accomplish your goals.
4. Payoff: What needs to be done? Be specific and share so everyone knows what to bring to the table. Piggyback this onto your purpose. For example, make the goal “Brainstorm 20 ideas for product development for the upcoming year and choose five to pursue.”
5. Preparation: What does each participant need to bring? Pay careful attention to the purpose and payoff, and let all participants know what they need in advance — whether that’s an idea or a pen and paper. 

How to make meetings more effective: 7 easy tips

Sending out a calendar invite with a meeting time and purpose is just the start. Here are seven meeting best practices to transform your 5 Ps into a productive discussion, from inviting participants to sharing action items. 

1. Communicate ahead of time

A common symptom of a bad meeting is a lack of context. Whether it’s to make a decision, conduct a scrum session, or gather feedback from colleagues, share the purpose of the meeting so your attendees come equipped to lead an effective conversation. Be sure to communicate ahead of time, especially if participants need time to prepare information.

2. Create a clear meeting agenda

Effective agendas state the meeting’s purpose, desired outcomes, and instructions for advanced preparation (like bringing specific insights or data). With the objective and instructions defined, organize a detailed list of topics to be discussed in order of importance. 

To keep the meeting time on track, consider adding a time allocation for each agenda item. This helps manage meetings’ flow and make sure you cover all critical optics. Assign a facilitator, speakers for each agenda item, and a timekeeper to monitor progress. This collaborative approach encourages accountability and keeps everyone focused. 

3. Invite meeting participants to contribute

Talking at everyone is an easy way to bore participants. Ask open-ended questions and invite team members to speak. Creative meeting strategies, like breakout discussions or free association brainstorming, can also help keep the energy up. These inclusive approaches invite deeper collaboration and sharing. 

Not all meetings require everyone’s active participation, like policy updates or informational briefings. Even in these scenarios, you can begin with a fun icebreaker and check in after each agenda item for questions and feedback. 

4. Use visual aids

Everyone absorbs information differently. If you’re hosting a virtual meeting or mixed in-person and virtual call for hybrid teams, it can be hard to accommodate everyone’s learning style. Visual elements like slides and charts are great ways to illustrate key points and enhance everyone’s understanding. 

Beyond learning, visual aids can keep everyone interested. For casual teams, funny memes and old-school PowerPoint effects are a great strategy to win people’s attention and create a sense of community.

5. Stay on topic

It’s the facilitator’s job to manage the meeting, focusing the discussion on the agenda. This means emphasizing time limits and agenda items at the start of the meeting and gently guiding conversations back to the main topic when it steers off course. 

Great meeting leaders also know how to prevent tangents. Summarizing key points, asking clarifying questions, and pointing out the next agenda item are communication strategies that keep everyone on task.

6. Create clear next steps

At the end of the meeting, summarize the discussion and outline actionable next steps. Assign each action item to someone — including a deadline or follow-up date — and make sure they know what’s on their to-do list. This sets you up for better projects and future meetings. 

7. Follow up

Send a summary email detailing key decisions, action items, and team assignments. AI-powered transcription services like Otter can do the legwork for you. Otter takes notes during the meeting, drafts emails with action lists, and schedules follow-ups on your behalf, aligning all team members without costing you precious time. 

Using Robert’s Rules of Order for more productive meetings

Looking for more structure in your meetings? Robert’s Rules of Order is a set of guidelines developed by an army brigadier to lead orderly meetings. 

You don’t have to run your meeting like a drill sergeant to hit your productivity goals, but you can heed their advice. Here are Robert’s rules for meetings:

1. Call to order: The meeting’s organizer kicks off with a call to order, bringing everyone’s focus to the discussion. This signals the beginning of the meeting and helps participants shift their attention to the agenda. Address any relevant action items from the previous meeting before the current agenda begins. 
2. Making a motion: A motion is a suggested action or proposal that a team member puts forward. For example, they might propose a new project initiative, like launching a customer feedback program to enhance product development. Another team member has to second the motion, and then the entire group can discuss and vote on it. This avoids long discussions about irrelevant points or projects.
3. Debate rules: One speaker talks at a time. The conversation should stay relevant to the topic and always remain professional. 

Otter: Revolutionizing the way you run meetings

It can be hard to stay engaged if you’re busy taking notes. Let Otter AI meeting assistant be your trusty note-taker. Otter can automatically transcribe meetings, summarize, and organize next steps to save you time. 

Focus on the conversation. Let Otter capture it.