Introduction by Sofema Online www.sofemaonline.com

Meetings need to be efficient – put simply it is an essential part of a strong business process to drive unnecessary waste and therefore to reduce associated cost.

The first five minutes of any meeting are crucial, and that to encourage participation during the meeting, you must set the tone in the correct way. Provide for a strong engagement by drawing people into the meeting subject from the very beginning.

Getting Ready to Starting the Meeting

Welcome everyone coming into the room and greet your co-workers, now bring to a focus the purpose of the meeting. Share with the attendees as some will have no prior knowledge (no matter how hard you try)

Grab everyone’s attention – a successful opening will really capture everyone's attention.

Share during the opening brief that everyone’s input is welcome, that they matter and that we respect each and every person’s contribution.

Understanding the Concept of a 5 Minute Meeting

The 5 minute meeting challenges the previous behaviour where a meeting room would be booked out for 30 minute or 60 minute is replaced with a “fast track” meeting where the key aspects are introduced, options considered and choices made all within a 5 minute period.

Learning Your Part – By Heart!

If you know that you only have 1 minute to get your message across then it becomes important to prepare so that you remain “on message” and keep everyone’s attention to effectively get your message across.

Read about making an elevator pitch, and how can it help to prepare you get your message across – also known as an elevator speech – It is a quick synopsis or summary of the information you wish to share and off course the reason it's called an elevator pitch is that it should be short enough to present during a brief elevator ride.

Practice, practice, and practice, in this way the speed and “pitch” of delivery will come naturally, without you sounding robotic. For sure the more you practice, the easier will be the task of delivery.

Why we should be careful with the 5 Minute Meeting 

Ultimately it is all about balance and there is a downside to a very fast meetings which can actually produce a stressful environment which is clearly counter productive. Not everyone can function in a high pressure environment.

Summary

A successful meeting opening should always share the purpose of the meeting so that attendees understand why the meeting matters as well as the relevance.

Reading the agenda is not the reason for the meeting, so we do need to quickly get to the purpose of the meeting to generate a shared understanding, to enable discussion and decisions.

Have questions about our programs, need more information, or want to learn about our exclusive special offers? We’re here to help! Reach out to us at team@sassofia.com, and one of our friendly experts will get back to you promptly. Let us guide you in finding the perfect training solution tailored to your needs!