Successful meetings - good preparation is half the battle

Successful meetings are more than just an enrichment for a company. They are the basis for efficient collaboration and the long-term success of a company. If all the gears mesh in a well-organized manner, nothing stands in the way of the desired end result.

However, hurdles in preparation can reduce the efficiency and productivity of a meeting. Technically sophisticated systems such as meeting and decision management software from Apollo.ai form the basis for a well-prepared, efficiently conducted and ultimately successful meeting.

Hurdles at meetings - a preparation mess

Bad meeting, no success. Do you know this too? You call a meeting - and off you go. The flood of e-mails with the votes, various documents and their versions, introductory or in-depth notes and ongoing adjustments to the meeting itself. Unfortunately, this preparation chaos can quickly derail a scheduled meeting.

According to Die Zeit, the market research institute Harris carried out an analysis of meetings on behalf of the Californian software manufacturer Clarizen. The result: employees around the world lose an average of 4.5 hours per week due to conferences, meetings and discussions that they have to attend but which have no relevance to their work.
With four weeks of paid vacation, this adds up to no less than 216 hours per employee per year in the remaining 48 weeks, during which time is wasted. Take the average hourly wage in your company and do the math yourself. You're paying for a lot of idle time.
Let's talk straight: there are meetings in which people talk, managers repeat themselves and in the end there is no result - only working time that has been lost. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this.

Successful meetings - these are the key data

If you want to hold meetings that are well prepared, perfectly structured and lead to a positive outcome, you should refer to a few useful key data.

• Author of the minutes
• Moderator
• Agenda
• Time frame (start and end point)
• Time period per agenda item
• Participating persons
• Time and place
• Further documents for preparation

Above all, the participants should be informed of all these points in good time. Efficient planning in advance means using software that everyone can access at the same time and that also provides a clear repository for documents, notes and comments. Apollo.ai supports precisely this approach.
Ideal conditions for a successful meeting

In addition to the technical refinements of frameworks such as Apollo.ai, you can also take other measures to prepare for a promising meeting in your company.

Especially in today's world, it is important to make sure there is enough space. This will ensure that the social distancing rules in force at the time can actually be observed easily and without difficulty.

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Nothing spoils concentration like standing or sitting uncomfortably. Ensure a pleasant communication atmosphere with sufficiently comfortable chairs - without any "musical chairs".

Solutions such as Apollo.ai require continuous access to (ideally) fast Internet. Make sure that the Internet connection in your conference environment is stable, fast and available at all times.
Modernity meets tradition. Not only oversized touchscreens are good for illustrating topics, themes and theses, but also flipcharts and whiteboards. Make sure in advance that your meeting process is not unnecessarily interrupted by the lack of simple pens, for example.
To ensure a pleasant and productive atmosphere, always have drinks such as water, coffee and tea to hand. Also serve small snacks during longer meetings. This way, participants will be happy to stay seated and take an active part in the discussions when they are refreshed.

Create the framework for a successful meeting with the following summarized points:

• Sufficient space and room
• Comfortable seating
• Stable and fast internet connection
• Flipcharts, monitors, whiteboards and pens
• Drinks and snacks

Tips for successful meetings with Apollo.ai

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One of the most popular functions of Apollo.ai is the agenda. Not only can you define the most important points of the meeting in advance for everyone to see, but you can also determine their order and the exact time frame for each agenda item. Even if creative freedom may be appropriate, this predetermined agenda always gives the meeting participants a new and secure anchor point and is sent to everyone in advance.
"What did we discuss last time?" Phrases like this are heard in offices all over the world. Applications like Apollo.ai allow you and the other participants to leave a meeting feeling relaxed. A quick glance at the system afterwards is all it takes to find all the details, documents and the measures that have been decided and their implementation status. One positive effect of having minutes that are always to hand is that nobody has to divide their concentration between the many quick notes and the person giving the presentation at the previous meeting.
I'm sure you know this yourself. Punctuality is a sign of mutual respect. Our software helps you and your colleagues not to lose sight of the start time of the meeting. This allows you to devote your full concentration to your tasks before it's time to turn your attention to the meeting.

Conclusion - less mess, fewer emails and more success

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Successful meetings thrive on active participants as well as good preparation and execution. An agenda that you can easily make accessible to everyone in Apollo.ai sharpens the thematic contours and serves as a common thread during the meeting. The better the general preparation thanks to such applications, the faster and better decisions can ultimately be made - true to the motto: "Preparation is half the battle."