Anatomy of a Meeting

How often do you walk away from a day full of meetings feeling unproductive and uninspired?

It’s time to step up: PREPARE, UNIFY, CLARIFY, INTENSIFY, and UNLEASH your teams.  You can run meetings that generate engagement and create a forward-moving agenda.



Meetings don’t just happen. They require preparation. 

• Review the context. Do a situational assessment and determine the who, when, where and how.
• Think about the opportunities and risks.
• Determine objectives and develop KEY MESSAGES.
• Anticipate tough questions and strategize responses.

A sense of unity sets the tone for a more meaningful engagement.

• Rekindle the why – Restate your vision and mission. Point to your North Star.
• Celebrate success by sharing hero stories. Catch team members doing the right things.
• Express your gratitude –  Acknowledge the team’s hard work and dedication.

People need to understand the purpose of the meeting, their roles and what you’re hoping to achieve.

• Articulate clear meeting objectives. Are you educating, inspiring, solving problems, or all three?
• Clarify each person’s mission-critical role. If they are not mission-critical, don’t invite them.
• Finish this sentence: “At the end of the meeting, our goal is to …. “

Create value, turn up the heat and collaborate – that means everyone. 

• Educate to establish context.
• Promote the sharing of ideas.
• Facilitate problem solving.
• Drive toward consensus and calendarize actions. – ABC (Always Be Closing)

Good meetings become great when you harness the momentum to catapult forward.

• Connect outcomes to vision and mission to illustrate the value of the meeting.
• Clearly articulate go-forward expectations.
• Deliver a strong close. The options are many: call-to-action, heart-felt thanks, pep-talk…

When you structure your meeting using these five steps, PREPARE, UNIFY, CLARIFY, INTENSIFY and UNLEASH, your teams will leave your meetings fired up and ready to tackle the world!