Go to Meetings Prepared
Meetings take time. Being prepared for meetings as the organiser, and as an attendee, saves time in meetings and makes them more productive. It is also much more professional.
Communication
Make Clear Definitions
Make your project definitions and acronym meanings very clear. Put them in an easy to find and easily accessible location for the project team.
Provide Advance Notice for Meetings
Booking last minute meetings causes distraction, delays projects, slows people’s work, and doesn’t encourage good attendance. Schedule meetings with as much advance notice as possible.
Clarify Time Based Language
Due dates are often not set clearly. Be specific with time based language. Specify the date and time something is due. This will reduce misunderstandings on when things are due.
Why Your Email Subject Line Matters
Use good, concise and informative email subject lines (email titles). Doing so will save people’s time and make your project team more likely to open and read your emails. A proper title allows the readers to know whether they should keep reading, and also makes searching for that email later much easier.
Should You Delete Most of Long Email Chains?
Don’t delete the history in email chains. Keep it in place so your recipients can read the full details if they need to. This will save time and reduce the possibility that people may miss out on important discussion information.
Notify Your Client of Project Delays
Delays on projects are very common. Record the reasons for all project delays. Notify your client of delays in the project schedule as soon as possible, whether the delay is the clients fault or not.
Document all Changes, Variations, and Agreements
Projects are complicated. Lots of agreements and changes are constantly made, these should be managed properly.
Document all changes, variations and agreements on your projects. You should put everything in writing.
Why You Need a Single Decision Maker in Client Communication
Keep good control of client communication. Ensure all important communications are between the project manager and the client project manager, especially for cost, schedule and scope decisions.
My Favourite Way to Reduce the Cost of Project Meetings
Project meetings can take a lot of time and cost a lot of money. A simple way to encourage meeting efficiency is to display the hourly cost of the meeting for all attendees to see. It is a simple way to keep attendees focused on getting things done and ending the meeting sooner.