Opening the meeting

- There are two big mistakes that people make with meetings.…The first mistake is assuming that meetings…are the opportunity to simply transmit information.…In actuality, meetings are an opportunity…to share information.…The difference is subtle, but it's really important.…Transmitting is a one-way method of communication,…and frankly, that's why so many meetings are so boring.…You know, the second mistake people make is…there are no action items for the meeting.…Instead, conversations just circle…around and around the same issues,…everybody looks down on their phone,…and nothing actually happens.…

So how do you avoid this?…The key is to let people know right from the beginning…that your meeting is not going to fall…into either of these traps.…Now you can do this by having a tight agenda…and indicating on the agenda itself for each item…what do you expect the group to discuss,…what input do you need from the group,…and what decisions need to be made…by the end of the meeting.…So let's look at an example.…Imagine your team is behind on hitting their number.…