It can sometimes feel like meetings are either incredibly productive or extremely un-engaging; there’s rarely an in between! But this doesn’t always need to be the case. By approaching meetings with the right attitude and preparation, you can in fact get much more value out of them.

 

Have a single person that directs the meeting

Just like a ship with no captain, it’s difficult to get anything out of a meeting where unless there’s a leader that steers it. Always have someone who knows the agenda while also pushing forward with different topics, when inevitably the meeting goes off topic. When a meeting is a free-for-all, with no captain and no clear direction, then it’ll be very hard to take away anything.

Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve in the meeting

Be it a board meeting, or a fundraising brainstorming session, charities can often have a plethora of different topics to discuss, so it’s also a good idea to go into a meeting with a clear agenda. This may sound obvious, but it helps to have a rough understanding of what you want to achieve in the meeting, make sure you have a clear list of goals to accomplish and subjects to cover. If there’s no purpose or agenda behind the meeting, then it’s difficult to get anything productive from it.

 

Once you have an agenda for the meeting, prepare some relevant materials

It’s much easier to get your ideas across if you prepare some relevant materials for everyone that attends. This can be paper with the meeting’s agenda, but it can also be more detailed with reports and statistics that are relevant to your subjects. You can also prepare this information digitally with document files instead of using ink and paper for large reports and files.

 

Hybridise your meetings with technology

Charity meetings don’t have to be held in person, and they also don’t need to rely solely on traditional materials like sheets of information. With Canopi’s central London meeting rooms, you can take advantage of the technology available to augment your meetings, make them a lot more interactive with digital tools to explain ideas and concepts, and still include those who physically can’t attend in person.

 

Arrange a productive meeting room space

While meetings can certainly be held entirely online, it’s often more productive to have a dedicated quiet meeting space where you, and the other attendees can focus fully on the task at hand, with little to no distractions. This is where our meeting room spaces can help. If you’re a charity or social organisation that prefers to be agile, then you may want to consider booking a meeting room for your next board or team meeting, so you can ensure a quiet and productive space to continue working towards your cause.

 

If you’d like to learn more about Canopis’s meeting room services in central London, then don’t hesitate to get in touch today.