Communication is integral to human life, so is the effective meetings to professional life. Running effective meetings is very critical for every organization. Similarly, in software companies, it is very important to keep everyone up-to-date about every stage of project; whether it’s the client or Solution Architects, Developers, QA Engineers, UI/UX Designers, Team Leads and Project Managers to productively deliver your projects.

Following are the most powerful tips to run effective meetings that will definitely set you up for success.

Always set the agenda:

Always set and email the agenda to attendees at least one day prior to the meeting. It will provide sufficient time to attendees to prepare for the meeting. If the time constraint is tight, the agenda must be clearly defined for the meeting when setting it up.

Start and end on time:

The starting and ending time of the meeting should be decided earlier at all the times and better to mention in the email about expected time leeway for the meeting. Once a meeting time is set, it should be started on time and timeline of the meeting should be esteemed by all means. In case there is a need to prolong the meeting, one should first get the approval of all the members before extending it, because there might be a chance that someone has other significant tasks to perform right after the meeting.

Take notes for yourself:

Never forget to keep your writing pads with you while attending a meeting. Taking notes on your computers might not be a good idea as it will feast a feeling that probably you are getting busy in your computers, catching up on emails or messages. The key purpose to take notes for yourself in a meeting is to record any queries or tasks that have been directed to you.

Follow up on the meeting:

Determination is a key influence skill, if you want something to really happen, you must always follow up. To ensure productivity doesn’t slow you down after you leave the meeting room, instantly float meeting notes and follow up on the commitments made or you will end up without clarity about what was agreed upon.

Conclude with an actual Action Plan:

Always save the last few minutes of your meetings to discuss the next steps to be taken. Before walking out the meeting room, clear discussion should be done that what everyone agreed upon and who is responsible for what. Otherwise all the time you spent on meeting will be go in vain.

Some other vital points to consider are:

• No use of cellphones during meetings.

• Always come prepared.

• Always come on time, better to be in meeting room before 5 minutes of the actual time setup for the meeting.

• Always be focused on topic and be clear and concise. Attendees should avoid side conversations and pay attention

• If you don’t agree with someone, disagree but defend your right to say it without being disrespectful to others

• Never forget the Q&A session.

If you uphold all of these habits, you will see that meetings are most effective tool to get work done.