Few aspects of working life are quite as unpopular as meetings. The popular impression is at best one of a necessary evil, at worst of a waste of time.

Yet meetings do serve a very important purpose in the running and growth of a business, boosting communication and cooperation, and giving a voice to concerns, hopes, ideas and plans - if they're carried out correctly.

A poor quality meeting can discomfit and irritate staff, bringing people together who don't want to be together and who fail to see why they should be there. If your business is to flourish, it's vital to ensure that meetings are as successful as they can be.

Be prepared

The first step towards that successful meeting, one that will genuinely benefit the organisation (rather than simply meeting for the sake of meeting) is clarity of purpose.

This may seem trite and self-explanatory, but it's a detail that is often overlooked, with meetings frequently taking place for no better reason than being the right day, or because one is expected. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with having a meeting, say, every Wednesday morning but there has to be a purpose to bringing staff together beyond the simple turn of the calendar.

If you are organising meeting on a regular basis, then it's important that all who attend understand the reason for the meeting, and what they are expected to contribute. Where some or all of those attending are unsure of why they need to be there, patterns will be created whereby certain individuals turn up each time knowing what will happen - who will say what, who will disagree, what will result. Consequently, there ceases to be any real motivation for contributing to proceedings, and so the pattern continues.

By establishing - and sharing with all concerned - a clear understanding of what the meeting is to achieve, and the role that individuals can play in the process, this harmful pattern of demotivation and disinterest need never develop.

This ought not to suggest, though, that thorough preparation ought to be focused only on those who may doubt the necessity of their being involved. Far from it. Where individuals have greater clarity of what is expected of them, it is easier for them to make a meaningful contribution, and thus more likely for the meeting to progress to a satisfactory outcome.

Individuals who come to the meeting prepared should have a greater awareness of the priorities and intentions of others, engendering a smoother and more cooperative and productive atmosphere.

A constructive environment

Having a positive atmosphere is crucial. After all, a meeting isn't a contest; it's not a negotiation with two rivals both looking to win out in the end.

Meetings aim for the same optimistic end for the organisation, and need to be cooperative with a joint focus. It's important that you look towards building a rapport with others from the beginning, and in an organisation that manages meetings effectively you should be able to expect a similar approach from all attending.

In the meeting itself, maintaining this cooperative environment is essential. Giving the impression of competitiveness, even a little belligerence, in putting across your point is very harmful to the stability and outlook of the meeting, and needs to be wholly avoided. Such negative attitudes don't just come across in what you say, though - your choice of words, the tone of your voice, your body language. All of these can create a sense of aggression even if you are intending quite the opposite.

Taking a step forward

The meeting shouldn't be seen as an end in itself, but a step in a journey.

How the meeting fits in with other schedules needs to be planned carefully. Many people in larger organisations find that meetings take up a substantial slice of the working week, so it can be critical to ensure that their place in the schedule is both necessary and adhered to.

Disorganised or misscheduled meetings can overlap, use up more time than they need, be too short to produce any meaningful results, or get cancelled at the last minute (and too late for the day's schedule to be rearranged). On the other hand, meetings that have - and stick to - a clear time-frame allow for ideas and decisions to be developed subsequently, and for progress to be made right away.

As no business ever thrives by standing still, further meetings are inevitable. You'll need each to be as successful as the last. To ensure this, it's important that all contributions are recognised and encouraged.

During the meeting itself, there is no alternative to listening to everyone's points thoroughly, regardless of how valid you may feel their opinions to be. Afterwards, you should be willing as a matter of course to give feedback to others, and welcome any that you receive. Where individual contributions have influenced decisions or the manner of progress, you should be ready and able to explain why. Similarly, you'll need to be confident in explaining why any contribution hasn't been taken on.

There will have been disagreements during the meeting, and differences of opinion as to what the results ought to be - but these should be seen as a natural part of the process, and moreover, as a benefit. They are a key stage in the development of an educated, researched, consensus decision.

Meetings shouldn't be seen as a chore, a nuisance, or simply as the done thing. Successful meetings allow you to take greater control of the progress of a project or of the business at large. They allow you to make use of a range of different viewpoints, experiences and skills to reach a consensus and a positive solution for the issue of the day - and the only difference between the effective meeting and the problematic, time-wasting alternative is in how well it is run.

Understanding how best to arrange and hold meetings, and how to ensure that they achieve their aims, is critical for your organisation; a short training course can be very beneficial to this end. And with this understanding, you, your company, and your colleagues can all look to a more prosperous future - together.