Sick of meetings running over time? 5 tips for more effective Zoom meetings

TLDR - All of these Zoom meetings are taking so much time out of deep/productive work. To get time back, we need to use actionable tricks to cut wasted meeting time and make them more efficient. You need to implement good meeting practices, preparation, and tools to make your Zoom meetings more effective. I'll show you how🤔

How to conduct effective Zoom meetings

Have ever thought to yourself, "why am I invited to this Zoom meeting and how much longer do i need to sit here?" or "This meeting is so inefficient, we're just talking about some random topic"

Well you're alone in this feeling, as study shows, "68% of people say they don’t have enough uninterrupted focus time during the workday" due to online meetings. (source)

Simply stated, meetings are taking time away from deep work and we need to do something about it. This is especially true in today's world of Zoom meetings where inviting more people to a "team catchup" is only a click away.

So I'm here today to help bring back some of your time and increase productivity for your entire organization.

Here are 5 actionable tips on how to cut wasted meeting times. (These tips are meant for meeting hosts/organizers since they are the ones responsible for managing the how the meeting is executed)

1 - Think like a minimalist

Wait! before you create that new invite for a "Q1 pre-launch strategy meeting", you need to be 100% sure of the necessity of that meeting. Think like a minimalist when it comes to setting up a meeting. Answer these specific questions when planning to create any new meetings:

• Who are the essential people that needs to be there?

• What is the shortest time that we can cover the topic in?

• Can this be done over message?

The odds are, you are inviting too many people to a meeting that is too long for the topic. Furthermore, there are many times that a well-written message is just as good, or even better, than gathering everyone on Zoom for 30 minutes.

Think like a minimalist!

2 - Create an Agenda and prepare your screen

Before your meeting starts, actually write down a meeting agenda with these things:

• The main objective of the meeting, which should be the title of the meeting

• Specific talking points, in the order of discussion

• Note any specific questions you have for participants

In addition, if you know you are going to be sharing your screen, get your window and tabs organized so you are not fumbling around your desktop when you enter screen share mode.

As with anything, preparation is the key to success.

3 - Actually use the Agenda!

You, as the host, are responsible of keeping the discussion on track and need to bring the talk back to the actual topic once everyone starts getting off track. And in order for everyone to respect the meeting agenda, you'll need some way to visualize it to them.

The single best tool to do this is to use the Meeting Agenda graphic with the SPX for Zoom plugin. Here's a blog post going in-detail about how to actually use this, but long story short, its a controllable agenda graphic that overlays on top of your video, and you can go down the list of items using the controller in the sidebar.

Visual cues are a super effective way to get your message across virtually.

4 - Use a timer!

And on the same topic of using visuals to manage people's intention during a meeting, using a visual progress timer is a powerful way for everyone to keep a sense of urgency in these meetings.

Now there is a built-in timer feature in Zoom but let's be honest, it's kind of not it..

Once again, the best way to do this is to use the Progress Timer graphic with the SPX plugin. This graphic was specifically made for online meeting efficiency.

You just need to enter the ending time of the meeting into the graphic, then a progress bar will appear on the top of your screen for everyone to see at all times!

This progress timer works like magic because when people see the progress bar shrinking, they naturally know to speed up or get to the point quicker, hence keeping the meeting on track.

5 - Be assertive

Now I know this is no a Zoom specific tip, but this is super important. As a host, you are responsible of executing this meeting. This means that you need to make sure people are staying on track, the discussion is meaningful, and there is a tangible outcome once the meeting is over.

And being assertive is a skill that comes with time. You have to determine in real-time whether to cut people off for the sake of time or let them finish their thought. It really depends on the situation and will only be learnt with practice. But don't be scared to cut people off because they will probably appreciate you for being a good host!

And those are my 5 actionable tips on how you can make your meetings more meaningful and efficient! And once you start implementing these tricks, people around you will also start to notice the difference in meeting quality when you are hosting. For those interested, make sure to slide them this blog post so eventually, you company will get to the point of meeting mastery. Good Luck!

Come back for more tips and insights on Zoom meetings and upping your video call game!

PS: If you work in an enterprise and are using some of our additional graphics, you'll probably know that it's quite unrealistic for everyone on your team to pay for their own SPX Pro Subscription. For that, we have the Enterprise Solution which includes things like pro subscription for your entire organization (includes agenda and timer), as well as custom branded graphics to match your brand's visual identity. Learn more about it here!