11 Types Of Meetings: What Makes Them Different & Tips

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Meetings are an essential part of any business. As a manager, you conduct various types of meetings with your team. However, seeing as times have changed, it can be challenging to master the art of hosting meetings. 

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Fortunately, you're in the right place. Read on to get insights on 11 types of meetings and tips on how to ace every single one!

What to Consider Before A Meeting

There is no denying that since the pandemic started, the number of meetings has increased. Before 2020, face-to-face meetings were the norm. 

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Remote and hybrid meetings were much less frequent. They were usually set up to exchange information with teams or clients from remote offices or outside contractors.

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Today, however, virtual meetings are a part of everyday life. Even companies who have returned to the office still hold hybrid meetings, in which at least some participants attend from their home office. 

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In fact, seeing meetings as a default face-to-face activity is highly unproductive. As your staff participates in more types of meetings than ever, it's critical to maximize the relevance and productivity of each one. 

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If not, you might end up in an endless cycle of unproductive meetings. 

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Here are three tips to help you prepare for a productive meeting:

1. Have a meeting agenda
2. Start on time & keep it simple
3. Have the right people at the table

1. Have a Meeting Agenda

Agendas are more than just an outline for discussion. They can make all the difference between pointless meetings and the ones that are truly engaging and productive.

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A good agenda helps your team stay on top of your meeting goals and get results faster than ever. Collaboration and productivity can be increased on a larger scale by implementing a formal meeting agenda template that establishes guidelines for meetings across the entire organization.

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Download our Simplified Meeting Agenda Template to get started:

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2. Start on Time & Keep It Short

Meetings will be more productive if you give everyone a set timeline to work with. As a leader, punctuality is a must if you want to inspire others to be mindful of everyone's time.

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On that note, the shorter your meetings, the more likely it is that people will show up and pay attention. Long meetings can overwhelm your team, particularly when they are frequent.

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It may cause them to become exhausted and lose interest while critical information is being discussed. Set aside 40 minutes for weekly & monthly meetings and 60 minutes for biweekly & quarterly meetings.

3. Have the Right People at the Table

To avoid overcrowding the meeting, establish which staff members must attend. A decision-making meeting, for example, should only include key stakeholders.

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This ensures that those who attend can meaningfully contribute and have their voices heard. The easiest way to do this is to list all the questions you need answers to during your meeting. Whoever can provide them needs a seat at the table.

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11 Types of Meetings

When meetings are not being used wisely and efficiently, they can become time-wasting activities on an already busy schedule. 

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‍Here are 11 types of meetings that make work more effective when planned properly.

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1. Daily Meetings

Daily meetings are usually short discussions between essential members of a project at the beginning of the workday. Also known as “daily standups” in teams that follow the Agile methodology — that focuses on the people doing the work and how they work together — daily meetings are usually short and to the point. 

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Here, attendees can discuss the previous day, any issues they might have encountered, as well as the tasks due for the current day.

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Particularly in fully remote teams, this type of meeting is used to touch base in the morning and set the tone for a workday. 

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Daily standup meetings require dedication and management experience for an optimal experience. Here are some best practices to remember for daily standup meetings:

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1. Organize your daily standups at the same time (and place, for in-person meetings). 
2. Keep your standups brief.
3. Be clear on what the standup meeting is for.
4. Switch up the standup meeting facilitator with every meeting to encourage active participation.

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2. Project Kick Off Meeting

‍A successful project kick off meeting is crucial at the start of any collaboration. This meeting type is useful for ensuring group cohesion and making sure that everyone involved has a general overview of the project. 

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People involved should be aware of each other’s roles and responsibilities, as well as the project plan, goals, and procedures before they start their work. 

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Here’s what you need to keep in mind before your next project kick off meetings:

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1. Prepare some icebreakers before the kick off meeting. This allows participants to get to know each other before working together.
2. Allow people to ask questions and express concerns about the project.
3. Hold your kick off meetings before any work begins. That way, everyone knows exactly what they need to do next and how to properly synchronize with the others.

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3. Planning Meetings

A project planning meeting is usually hosted by a team leader or a manager, and it focuses on presenting the plan for the entire project to team members, other managers, or clients. 

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The information discussed usually includes the schedule of the entire project, detailed with tasks, milestones, costs, and other resources.

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While it’s usually structured as a presentation, in planning meetings participants can also help the project manager make adjustments when needed, based on their expertise. 

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How to ace your planning meeting:

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1. Verify that everyone is aware of their responsibilities.
2. Harness the diverse perspectives of the attendees by retaining the most creative ideas brought to the table.
3. Go the extra mile to prepare a meeting agenda with specific topics & courses of action ahead of time.

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4. Information-Sharing Meeting

These meetings are designed for deep diving into certain topics such as any updates, innovative proposals, procedures, technical details, approaches, etc.

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Since the purpose of the meeting is to share knowledge, the host usually shares their screen and goes step by step through the materials. For a productive information-sharing meeting, remember to:

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1. Prepare handouts and slides that emphasize important information.
2. Before addressing any concerns, wait until all the information has been presented.

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5.  Brainstorming / Problem-Solving Meetings

Brainstorming is defined as a group problem-solving technique. For any team, holding brainstorming meetings is an important part of the collaborative process.

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Through proper ideation, teams can find creative solutions to various problems they encountered in their daily activity, as well as innovative proposals for future development.

No matter the meeting format, you can still get creative. Whiteboard apps, editable documents, slides, design tools, sticky notes, and other similar software can make any problem-solving meeting more engaging. Here are a few other tips for brainstorming meetings:

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1. Eliminate ideas that are unrealistic from the brainstorming session.
2. Ensure that every team member knows what needs to be done. Tell them how many options they should try before addressing the next problem.
3. Set a deadline for reaching a resolution. This will motivate your colleagues to concentrate on producing outcomes. 

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6. Decision-Making Meetings

As we have all experienced at least a few times in our careers, planning is not an exact science. Even the most straightforward solutions can be altered by blockers, unexpected situations, and new information coming to light. 

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In these situations, decisions need to be made, more often than not, under time constraints. Decision-making meetings are focused on defining tasks and leaving with clear actions.

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By the end of the meeting, each participant should understand the next practical steps. Here’s what to consider before decision-making meetings:

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1. Choose wisely the person in charge of the decision-making meeting. Make sure they’re open to all types of feedback.
2. Keep in mind that there is a chance that not everyone will agree to the decisions made.
3. Allot time at the end to allow everyone to discuss how they will be putting the decisions into action.
4. Make sure to thoroughly document all relevant aspects of the decision-making process for future reference.

PRO TIP: Since we know it’s not always easy to take notes during your meetings, MeetGeek is coming to your rescue. Our tool was specifically designed to allow you to fully engage in your meetings. 

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7. Status Update Meetings

Status update meetings are periodical checks on the status of a project. Since they are a common type of meeting, status updates are usually hosted by the project manager.

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The discussions are meant to touch base on what has been accomplished so far, to fix issues, adapt plans when necessary, and discuss the next steps to follow.

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Unlike daily meetings, status updates cover longer periods of time, so they are more complex. To make the most of your status update meetings, make sure to:

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1. Allow a couple of the top performers to share their impression of what’s been working for the project.
2. Make sure to reiterate what the common goal is and set aside time for questions.

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8. Retrospective Meetings

These are held at the end of a project. The goal of a retrospective meeting is to provide opinions on the overall experience, exchange newly learned information, and offer feedback.

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When working from the home office or as a part of a hybrid team, there is less transparency and awareness of other people’s activities.

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In retrospective meetings, attendees can share what they have learned from the past weeks or months on the job. This helps to avoid past mistakes and acknowledge potential solutions for future needs. Here are our tips for better retrospective meetings:

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1. Make retrospective meetings a habit and stick to it.
2. Always acknowledge the positives.

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9. Board Meetings

These are formal meetings of an organization’s board of directors. They are usually held at regular intervals or as needed to discuss major issues, review performance, and conduct the board's legal business.

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Unlike informal meetings, the quorum, procedures, and roles for board meetings are spelled out in the organization's operating agreements. These meetings are usually presided over by an organization chairperson. For a better board meeting experience, do this:

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1. Focus on the meeting’s structure. A board meeting is an important part of any company's business structure, but it does not have to be a waste of time.  
2. Find an experienced minute taker or get a tool like MeetGeek to help you collect all the necessary data.

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10. Client Meetings

Whether you work under a B2C or a B2B model, conversations with clients and stakeholders are useful for almost all departments of a company. 

Hosting client meetings and interviews can help us better understand the needs of the client so we can be better equipped in handling all connected matters. Business meetings with clients are not as frequent as other discussions, but they are definitely just as relevant.

Depending on the team’s activity, you might host such a meeting to ask for feedback, get approval, present plans, or make proposals. For a productive client meeting, make sure to:

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1. Research all participants before the meeting to find common ground with them and avoid major surprises.
2. In order to relieve their concerns and make sure you and your client are on the same page, follow up with them after the meeting and throughout the entire project.
3. Try to create the best environment possible to ensure a productive meeting.

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11. Team Meetings

Meetings that gather all the team members are usually less frequent. Everyone has a busy schedule, and it’s not always efficient to set up such a meeting.

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However, with remote work, it’s easy for us to focus on our own activities and forget that we are actually part of a team. In team meetings, people can catch up on each other’s work, provide feedback, and share relevant experiences with each other.

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Managers can keep the company’s culture alive and conduct team-building activities — hence the concept of team building meetings — to increase employee satisfaction. To upgrade how you hold your team meetings, remember to:

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1. Talk about topics that are relevant to the entire team
2. Encourage everyone to bring their own input into the conversation.

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Make All Types of Meetings Better with a Meeting Assistant

‍To make all types of meetings effective, it’s essential to have the relevant information stored properly. Actions on which you decided, information shared, tasks, and ideas should be saved for future reference.

This will not only make the process of following through with a meeting easier, but it will also help you to share information with people who weren’t able to attend the meeting.

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An AI assistant like MeetGeek can help you with this. The virtual meeting assistant joins your meetings to record conversations, take notes, save highlights, and provide a transcript of the conversation. 

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