Less Is More: Three Things You Could Use Less of in Meetings

We often hear and talk about the extra amenities that make for a great meeting experience: design-enhanced spaces to inspire innovation and creativity, complimentary technology amenities, full service catering, access to a personal meeting coordinator and more. All of these features are opportunities to inspire your team and elevate your overall meeting experience.

It’s easy to focus on the must-haves for a successful meeting, but what about the things that we could use a little less of? Consider the following three meeting factors and see if you agree that less of these could translate to a better overall experience for your team.

Less People

This isn’t meant to seem exclusive, but why hold an “all hands” meeting if all hands aren’t actually needed? When limiting the number of attendees to the key stakeholders, meetings become more productive in two ways:

1. The people closest to the subject matter play a larger role in addressing the agenda. It’s easier for them to be heard, collaborate and work towards a resolution when there are less individuals in the room who are unfamiliar with the meeting content.
2. Team members who don’t need to be in a meeting are freed up to concentrate on projects in which their involvement and contribution are more critical.

Less Time

Most experts agree that whether in a classroom, public speaking auditorium or meeting room, attendees can generally only devote their full attention to a speaker for five to six minutes. That’s barely enough time to run through your standard meeting agenda.

If even the most disciplined of meeting attendees have difficulty retaining focus and engagement, it might be time to re-evaluate the structure of your meeting. Consider the benefits of breaking up one long meeting into several shorter ones or structuring your meeting in multiple sprint-like segments with ample time for breaks in between. When people are fresh, they’re inspired. And inspired minds often produce the best work.

Less Agenda

Getting too ambitious with a lengthy meeting agenda can actually function as an energy zapper rather than a tool for productivity. While there will always be a broad spectrum of topics that need to be discussed, the pressure to work through too many agenda items becomes burdensome and results in half-baked ideas. Prioritizing fewer talking points often results in well-rounded and more innovative ideas as your team has the time and mental capacity to go deeper on the most important topics.

And if you’re lucky enough to successfully run through the entire agenda with time to spare, nobody ever complained about getting out of a meeting early. They’ll appreciate the consideration of their time, and look forward to your next meeting.

At Roam, our team of meeting and hospitality experts can strategize and execute the details your team could use a little more of to facilitate a fun and innovative meeting experience—leaving you with time and capacity to think through the things you could use a little less of. Book a meeting room in any of our five Greater Atlanta locations today and experience enhanced productivity and creativity for your next offsite gathering.