Are you a manager trying to find the best check-in questions for meetings? Read this before your next meeting!
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March 10, 2023
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6
min read
Image Source: Drazen Zigic on Freepik
Check-in questions are among the best ways to connect with your team during meetings. We are currently experiencing a meeting culture where ‘Good, we’re all here, let’s start this meeting!’ simply won’t cut it.
Read on to learn all the best check-in questions that will help you reinvent your meetings!
Check-in questions are an excellent way to ensure that all the participants in a meeting are actively engaged and on the same page. They provide an opportunity for everyone to share their thoughts and ideas.
Using check-in questions keeps your meetings organized and efficient, as check-ins can help to identify any areas of disagreement or confusion that you need to address. At the end of the day, the success of your meetings depends on how in sync your team is, and there is no better way to achieve this than to ask the right check-ins.
Coming up with the perfect check-in question may sometimes prove tricky for any team leader. That’s why we compiled a list of dos and don’ts to help you successfully navigate your team meetings.
When crafting your check-ins, there are some general guidelines you need to follow:
A. Provide the necessary context
B. Keep questions open-ended
C. Keep it positive
D. Mix it up
Here’s what you need to do!
To allow for productive conversations, provide a brief introduction about the topic and why it is important to address it before asking each question.
This will help the whole team understand the context and the relevance of the question, as well as allow for more detailed, focused conversations.
Providing enough context during meetings takes time and energy that could be otherwise allocated toward overall meeting productivity. Why struggle with this when MeetGeek can do that for you?
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Open-ended questions encourage team members to express their thoughts and feelings more freely while providing clearer insight into their current situation.
These questions may include, “What has been your biggest success this week?” rather than closed-ended queries such as “How did this week go?”
It is crucial to maintain a positive tone. Avoid overly critical questions and instead, ask supportive ones. For instance, ask your team members what tangible progress they have made instead of asking about their mistakes.
This allows you to create a safe space in which team members can openly express themselves and feel heard.
Rather than repeating yourself at every meeting, diversify your narrative. Ask a variety of questions to ensure everyone has the chance to share.
You can even assign team members the responsibility of coming up with check-in questions each meeting, and encourage them to think of interesting questions that will allow everyone to get to know each other better. Consider rotating who answers the check-ins each meeting to ensure everyone's voice is heard.
There are a few things you should avoid at all costs when asking check-in questions, namely:
A. Put too much pressure on your team
B. Ask For Too Much
C. Forget to Respond
Let’s take a closer look at each of them!
When asking check-in questions during team meetings, it is important to avoid focusing exclusively on progress, as this adds unnecessary pressure on team members.
Instead, create an open dialogue that allows team members to express their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and concerns. Ask questions that encourage team members to share their successes, challenges, and any obstacles they are facing. Create an environment that fosters honesty and openness.
Be mindful of the amount of information you are asking for. Try to limit yourself to only a few precise and pertinent questions to give everyone the opportunity to respond properly and keep the meeting on track.
Give team members time to answer the questions in their own way. This way, you ensure their responses are meaningful and give them the opportunity to provide valuable feedback.
Acknowledge the answers you receive and reply to the messages or inquiries your team members send your way. Doing so will make them feel valued and appreciated, and can lead to better collaboration and team unity.
Additionally, responding to check-in questions helps you identify potential areas of improvement, which in the long run, contributes to building strong and effective teams.
Different meetings require different types of check-in questions. These are the 5 types of questions you’ll need to ask, depending on the format of the meeting you’re having:
Feel free to mix and match them depending on the type of meeting you’re having. In the meantime, here are some examples of thoughtful check-in questions to help you gauge team morale and hit your meeting goals.
Asking check-in team meeting questions will help you build trust between team members and ensure that everyone will contribute meaningfully to achieving the meeting goals.
With so many teams working remotely, you have to go the extra mile to ensure you reach peak meeting productivity. With an AI meeting assistant like MeetGeek that automatically records, transcribes, analyzes, and summarizes all of your meetings, you’ll never have to worry about keeping track of your virtual meetings ever again!
Constantly tracking your team’s progress can ensure any project’s continued success. The only way to do so is by making sure that your team members are effectively coordinating their efforts.
Having a good team is impossible when its members can’t perform well. Without the right check-ins in place, it will be very hard to properly assess any areas for development.
A positive environment boosts team productivity and ensures all members involved stay on top of their game for the entire duration of your projects.
Helping new employees feel welcome in your company and become a part of the team guarantees that they will succeed in their new role.
How you start your meetings ultimately dictates how productive your meetings are. If you want to boost team dynamics and achieve peak efficiency, you need to ace the check-in question game!
And while you’re at it, try MeetGeek for free to get the most out of your team meetings!