A few years ago I spent an entire long weekend preparing for an executive presentation only to be bumped to a later date. The upsetting part was that I'd been bumped in exchange for an earlier presenter's 10-minute soliloquy on her dog. It was at that moment that I vowed to be a great meeting moderator. Nevertheless, efficient meetings are easier visualized than realized. There are a number of obstacles we face including a lack of agenda, too many attendees and the inevitable Chatty Cathy. 

While I'm just scratching the surface, here are a few ways to increase efficiency in your meetings:

1. BE SELECTIVE WITH INVITES: Ensure that the right players are in the room and for the right reasons. If you're trying to build executive buy-in then don't invite those that have a tendency to get caught in the weeds. Invite only those individuals who are required for information, approval or action and fill in other employees on an as-needed basis.

2. BE PURPOSEFUL: Always offer a meeting agenda and the rationale as to why you're holding the meeting. By circulating this in advance you are allowing key executives to waive their right to approvals or attendance. If this is a recurring meeting, an agenda models future behaviors and the moderator can then ensure that discussion is tied back to the company's key performance indicators (KPIs).

3. BE CONSCIOUS OF TIME: A number of management consultants suggest that you start meetings consistently on time, event if there are latecomers. As well, tactical discussions should be taken offline and rescheduled as private working group meetings. Meetings should remain energetic, purpose-driven and above all, they should always end on time.

4. CHOOSE A PLACE: The best meeting rooms are those near where the work itself is being done and create a familiar group ritual. If you use the same place every week to host a meeting, you're more likely to get regular attendees. This means that if you work virtually, you have a consistent conference number and hub to share your tasks and documents.

5. CONSIDER A SCRUM: Tear a page out of the agile software playbook and consider holding standup meetings. In these meetings participants stand up in a circle while offering status updates. Because these agile meetings or "scrums" last no longer than 15 minutes, participants are forced to parse out the most actionable information and edit their chatter to what is necessary.

For efficiency in external meetings, check out our Master 1:1 Sales Meetings post.