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Five tips for better meetings

Like many people, over the years I’ve been in a lot of meetings. Here are five things that I’ve found tend to make for better meetings.

  • 🙋‍♀️ Facilitator. To help us stay on topic and stay on time. (Example: jazz hands to signal off topic)
  • 📅 Agenda. So we know why we’re there and what our goal is. (Can be only one thing!)
  • 👍 Ground rules. So we know what we can expect from each other. (Examples: the retrospective prime directive, phone use outside the room only)
  • 🤫 Silent brainstorming. To let all the ideas surface, and to let everyone have their say. (Usually with sticky notes)
  • 🖼 Visual note taking. To record what happened. Visual because images are better for memory and understanding. (Ideas, not art: doesn’t have to be fancy!)

That’s it!