At one point or another we’ve all been caught off guard in a compromising situation when nothing is achieved or experiences when you don’t have an answer to an accurate simple question thrown at you.
Efficiently preparing for a meeting is actually making everyone’s time worthwhile and as well all know in a work environment time is quite expensive. When you are adequately prepared for a meeting it gives you a great sense of professionalism and a focused member of the team who wants the best for the organization.
So reversely when you don’t prepare for meetings it makes you unprofessional and irresponsible at the same time and you definitely wouldn’t be taken seriously during and after the meeting.
This would also tend to offend everyone present at the meeting as it would count as a waste of time to them and definitely wouldn’t blame them if they refuse to attend future ones.
To avoid embarrassment I would be giving 5 questions you need to be sure of the answers before going for a meeting.
The Objective Of The Meeting
Everyone certainly at one point had complained and lamented about one or more meetings we’ve attended that certainly did not make sense and definitely was a complete waste of time and resources.
Looking at why the meeting was such a failure could be narrowed down that the organizer certainly had no objective on ground before summoning the meeting in the first place, it was just an unplanned and definitely unserious type of meeting.
In cases where you are totally unsure of the objective of the meeting, it is in your best interest if you approach probably one of the executives in charge of the meeting or better and most preferably the host of the meeting, ask about the objective and don’t be intimidated. The objective would give you a clear view on what to prepare for.
Why Have You Been Invited And Of What Value Would You Be?
This particular question, its answer would definitely give you an insight into what ought to be done in advance and in preparation for the meeting.
The answer to this question would clearly pinpoint if you should actually be at the meeting or not.It is not a necessity for you to attend every meeting you are invited or asked to attend.
When you understand and can actually diffuse why you have been invited then it would give the answer to the second question on what value would you be bringing to the table if you attend, the answer to this would be enough reason to either attend and not attend the meeting.
In an attempt to answer this question and you actually find out you would definitely add a lot of value or you can definitely pick up a few things from the meeting then you’ve come with a good motive to actually go for the meeting.
What Should You Prepare For?
This particular question would give you a direction on what to prepare or research on. It is the needed insight to actually understand tricky questions you might be asked and you need to prepare an answer down Incase questions like that pops up to save yourself the embarrassment and the likes in one meeting.
This would save you the stress of coming or recalling the meeting just to answer some parts you left out in your research. Make your research well on what to prepare for.
Who Else Is Attending?
Why this question can not be overemphasized or should not be disregarded is the fact that this gives you information on how well to prepare and the type of information you need to bring along to the meeting.
Either it is meant to be a well detailed one, a photo included presentation or the likes. This gives you a headline and a direction to how well or how detailed or the structure of your preparation.
What Are Your Expected Results Or Turnouts?
The answer to this question aids and gives you answers when you attempt to do a self evaluation after the meeting.
It gives you the feeling of fulfillment or otherwise. Write down and make enough enquiries on certain things discussed during the meeting before the meeting is called to a close