Communication in the business world is vital for the proper functioning of workers and companies. In this article, we are going to discuss a common form of communication: structured meetings.
You will learn what structured meetings are, what they are for, how to conduct them, and so on. You will also learn how they reinforce team principles and make you function much faster and more efficiently.
Summary
- Meetings are a very effective communication method for delivering messages to the masses. The benefits of these are very diverse, from streamlining the meeting to achieving more intimate communication with your employees.
- There are lots of different platforms to hold these meetings, but the main thing is to get it done, no matter which channel you use.
- Analyzing the effects of the meeting to see whether it has had an impact is a critical task that will inevitably affect the functioning and success of the business.
What you should know about structured meetings
Structured meetings are a method of global communication that, in most situations, turns out to have a more than positive effect on those who receive them. In addition, due to the pandemic, the number of companies that have started conducting them has increased greatly. However, many employers and employees do not know how to carry them out, and that is why we have listed below some of the most frequently asked questions:
What are structured meetings?
As the name suggests, structured meetings are those meetings based on an absolute organization, in order to guarantee their effectiveness. But you may ask, what does the organization have to do with holding a meeting?
Well, when planning a meeting, it is important to think about how you are going to do it. Because without prior planning, you could deviate from the main topic of conversation and deal with issues that do not bring any value to your employees (1).
Another fundamental question is: why are you holding the meeting? The main thing is to detect if there is some kind of problem or if you just want to communicate something to your employees. This previous step, before carrying it out, will save you a lot of time, not only in the meeting itself, but also when planning it, since solving a problem is not the same as simply wanting to communicate something.
How to structure a team meeting?
Now, let’s talk about one of the most essential points, how to structure a team meeting (2). When giving a talk or meeting, it is very important to know what and how you are going to communicate.
Read more about Meeting Structures
We recommend you make a draft of the items you want to discuss in the meeting, as this will make it much easier for you to write the agenda. Also, if there are several participants wishing to speak to the team, we recommend using applications such as Notion to structure it. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using apps like Notion:
Advantages
- It allows collaborative editing, so a few people can make changes at the same time, speeding up the process.
- It has many functions, from the creation of tables to fully customizable databases.
- You can access such applications from any mobile device, with your email account.
Disadvantages
- Not using this type of application will slow down the process of structuring a meeting.
- When planning the meeting physically, many things can be left behind.
- The risk of forgetting something is higher. However, with digital applications, you can write down all the ideas that come to your mind at any time.
See other best Project Management Software
Who is the meeting for?
Another point to address in the process of structuring a meeting is to whom the meeting is addressed. Without taking this point into account, you can make many mistakes.
Meetings aimed at company employees
If you do not take into account that the meeting is for this specific group of people, you could use a too informal tone, something not recommended if you are their boss. In addition, the level of authority would be diminished by using this tone, and the workers would see you more as a friend than as an authority figure, greatly affecting the message of the meeting.
Meetings aimed at a group of friends
If you do not take into account that the meeting is for this specific group of people, you could use an overly formal tone, something that would not help you if you are trying to solve a problem.
As you can see, consideration of the meeting’s audience is critical not only for getting the message conveyed, but also for making the meeting and its purpose as successful as possible.
What is most important in a structured meeting?
One of the things to do, not only when planning a meeting, is to analyze whether the message has reached the recipient or not. As we have already mentioned, communication in the business world is something fundamental for the functioning of the company and the obtaining of benefits. For this same reason, as a manager, you must analyze if everything is going well in the work environment and if not, look for a solution.
Lately, companies are taking more action. They are planning more constant meetings with their workers to know the state of production of their product, how they carry it out, and to know the level of happiness and job satisfaction of their workers. This is undoubtedly a slow process, but there are more and more companies that really care about their workers, instead of seeing them as production robots (3).
What are structured meetings for?
Structured meetings make employees feel more connected with the managers. They discuss doubts they have with the managers directly (which facilitates and speeds up the production process) and discuss possible future projects that they want to realize.
As you can see, the benefits of a simple meeting can be decisive:
- Decision-making
- Product success
We recommend you to use these meetings to improve your company, both internally and externally.
Conclusion
It is worth mentioning that there are many other ways of communicating with people in the business world. But we believe that this might be the most generic of them all, and the easiest to implement. Not to mention the multitude of platforms that have emerged as a result of the pandemic to make this task much easier.
Finally, we suggest that you not only implement this type of action when it comes to business, but in any area of your life. This will undoubtedly help you to have fewer problems and much more stable communication with the people around you (4).
References
1. 10 Guidelines to organize effective work meetings [Internet]. Lexington. 2022 [cited 2022Nov19].
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2. COMMUNICATION [Internet]. Google Books. Google; [cited 2022Nov24].
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3. Leal Ramírez V. The importance of Organizational Communication [Internet]. Google. Google; [cited 2022Nov24].
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4. Benefits of Organizational Communication [Internet]. Google. Google; [cited 2022Nov24].
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