Leading Decisive Meetings

As a leader, do you know how to lead a decisive meeting? 

Simply because someone is appointed to a leadership position, it doesn't mean that they automatically know how to lead effective meetings.  To keep momentum in your work, you need to run great meetings. Make your next meeting productive with these three guidelines:

• Restate the meeting's purpose. Even if you think everyone knows it, it helps to remind them and sharpen the group's focus.
• Include everyone. If one or two people dominate the conversation and others are shy about leaping in, draw out people through facilitating by saying, "Thanks for those ideas, Carl. What are your thoughts about this problem, Megan?"
• End well. Close the meeting with specific actions to take and a clear time frame. State the decisions the group has made, who owns what, and when they need to report back to the team. 

Adapted from Guide to Project Management (HBR OnPoint Collection).

Creating Attention-getting Messages

As a leader, how do ensure your important messages are noticed?

With so much information out there, getting your audience's attention is tough. But it is also essential. Consider these three things next time you craft an important message that needs to be heard:

• Make a comparison. Whether you are promoting an idea or making a point, remember that people like to draw connections. Help your audience understand by comparing your message to something else.
• Piggyback on the familiar. Take something most people know and make it your own. Spinoffs of the "Got Milk?" slogan have done this successfully.
• Be specific. Use simple, specific details to solidify your point. These give your audience something to remember when you're no longer in front of them or they've put your memo off to the side.

Adapted from "Craft an Attention-Grabbing Message" by Kare Anderson.