These small shifts will transform your next meeting with community partners, funders and staff.

In nonprofit, education and community based organizations, we meet.  A LOT.  Some days are back-to-back with meetings. And, we’re meeting with others who are in the same situation. In fact, it’s almost a hallmark of our sector for people to show up to meetings late, frazzled, exhausted or distracted. Once you get started, your meetings may feel rushed, scattered and ultimately, unproductive.  

We’ve written a lot about ways to help shift the meeting culture so you can be more focused on advancing your mission like here, here and here.  Today we’re talking about what you can do, right now, on the spot, effective immediately.

Start your next meeting with these ABCs to shift the energy and move forward on your mission.

AFFIRM. Start the meeting by affirming that you are both there.  It may sound elementary, but seriously–so often we participate in meetings that don’t have a clear beginning. If you don’t set the tone of warmth and well-being, then you risk losing your colleague’s interest and attention before you even start!  In virtual meetings, people even forget to introduce themselves to someone they’re meeting for the first time! Of course, your name is there on Zoom, but we are still humans. And it’s important to take a human-first approach.  

When you affirm, you are saying to the other person: You are in the right place.  I’m glad we’re talking.  Thank you for being here. Welcome. 

“Oh, hey.”>>> “Hi. Good to see you. I know we’ve talked over email, but I’m XYZ.”

“What are we talking about?” >>>“I’m so glad to talk with you today.” 

BREATHE.  Yes, another simple shift.  Once you welcome your colleague by affirming that you’re both there, take a pause. In teacher-talk, this would be “wait time”. What you want to do here is provide a little space to let go of the previous meeting’s energy (whatever it was) and collect your thoughts so you can be in this meeting right now.  You need a moment. So take a moment. And give a moment to your colleague.  By moment, I mean five to ten seconds.  Take a breath and slow down.  

This can help prevent your meeting from jumping into details too quickly or overwhelming with information overload.  Set a tone of calm confidence.  

The mindset here is: Slow down now so you can go fast later.  You already know the benefits of breathing, focusing, and being mindful. You know it works. You know it helps. So do it!

CONNECT.  This is the primary reason for meeting. If you didn’t need to connect, you could have accomplished the thing via email. So, connect. Talk. Ask how your colleague is doing. Where do they live? What did they do this weekend? How’s the weather where they are? 

You may have the nagging feeling that this kind of “small talk” is disrespecting the time you have together.  You may think your agenda items are far more important than finding out their favorite dinner spot.  Wrong.  Small talk isn't about sharing ideas or information; it's about finding common ground and creating bonds with other human beings. 

When you invest time to build common ground, the “work” part of the conversation is a lot easier, smoother and more productive toward advancing your organization’s mission.

Once you’ve Affirmed, Breathed, and Connected, then transition to your meeting topic at hand: “Thanks again for meeting with me about XYZ” or “Right, we’re here to decide about xyz. Let’s do it.”

If you’re not already doing these three simple things to start each meeting, try it.  You’ll be wow-ed at how easily your meetings become so.much.better.