Meeting Moderators and Meeting Productivity on Overdrive

In this article, we will explore what a meeting moderator is and how this role can change your organization's productivity. You may have never heard of the term 'Meeting Moderator'. You may have heard of meeting AI tools but this is different, WAY different. The impact is way better than just a list of spoke quotes and assumed tasks selected by an AI. Want to master meetings? Sign up for my Meeting Moderator Program here: LEARN MORE

According to a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, approximately 67% of meeting discussions and decisions are not documented properly. This lack of documentation contributes to misunderstandings, misinformation, and the need for follow-up meetings to clarify previous discussions.

1. What is a meeting Moderator? It is a person designated and permitted to moderate company meetings. This can be a different person each time. However, they must have a specific skill set, which I will review in the following items.
2. What does moderating entail? This one is BIG, and that is why it is so different from AI. This person is NOT simply taking notes; they have full permission to interrupt, request clarity, move the conversations along, and so much more! Check out my responsibility list below. Think back to your last company meeting with four or more people; how much time did you spend on small talk? How many times did someone digress to something irrelevant? How many people took ownership of ideas? I could go on.
3. Skillset of a moderator? This is extremely important. This person must be very aware of people and be well-spoken; they must always speak with respect but be able to speak straightforwardly, no matter who is there. They must be good with words and be good at explaining. They must be able to analyze conversations and think ahead. This person must be natural to the meetings and can not be on a 'side' of an issue, or they must be very good at filling the role of nonbias even if they are on one side. They must feel comfortable stopping someone when they are talking.

If you successfully assign this role to a person and allow your meeting dynamics to change, you will see a 100% increase in productivity. Want to master meetings? Sign up for my Meeting Moderator Program here: LEARN MORE

A survey by Atlassian found that 47% of professionals believe that unclear objectives and action items are the primary reason for ineffective meetings.

Examples:

1. Josh is the CEO and is in a meeting with 6 other team members. As he is speaking, he quickly spouts out an idea, "so we could run an ad for that," but he continues on with his conversation. The meeting moderator should interject "Josh, (or however he wants to be addressed) you stated an idea, it was great, who should I assign this to?" Josh "assign it to Carl", Moderator, "Carl, do you have any questions about this before we move on? Are you clear about the ad you need to run? Do you know for what and what Josh's vision is for the ad? or do you need clarity?" Carl: "Yes, I do need some clarity." Moderator: "So Josh, you can explain this now, or how about Carl and you have a meeting about this specific ad?" Josh: "Let's have a follow-up meeting just about this tomorrow at noon, Carl". So the meeting moderator has captured a very important idea from the CEO, helped Carl speak up about his needs, and tied in the CEO and Carl into a meeting about it.
2. Jimmy is the Director of the warehouse, and he is in a team meeting with 8 team members: Jimmy, during his talk, states, "We have an issue in room B, and the process must change to placing items on rack C instead of H". Jimmy assumes everyone now knows what to do, a Moderator KNOWS this statment was not enough. Moderator: "Great info, Jimmy; who is in charge of updating this in the SOPs and redistributing the steps? Is anyone not in this meeting who needs to know this? Also, does anyone have questions about what Jimmy just said? I will record that all of you have been given this new instruction to follow and understand it." The moderator here has ensured accountability, and instead of assuming people heard, and will now follow.

As you can see with just these 2 examples, a moderator can change your meeting completely. Just think of how many times things are said in meetings but not put into action? How many great ideas are lost! How many times has a manager had to say "But I told you all in the last meeting". Gone are those days of disorganization and wasted meeting time.

According to a survey conducted by VitalSmarts, about 62% of employees admitted to staying silent in meetings due to the fear of negative consequences, such as being judged, criticized, or even reprimanded for their opinions.

The end goal of having a meeting moderator:

1. Start the meeting
2. Set the agenda
3. Keep the meeting on the agenda and time schedule
4. Start the meeting with the tasks of the previous meeting and request updates
5. Stop conversations when digressing.
6. Record tasks and assign ownership.
7. Record ideas and assign ownership.
8. Cut in as needed to obtain clarity.
9. Document accountability.
10. Follow up the meeting with a clear task list assigned to each person.
11. Interject when communication between meeting attendees seems scattered as if they do not understand each other.
12. Fill in conversations with questions when they feel the topic was not clearly discussed.
13. Ensure that the needed people are tied to tasks and promote meeting attendees.

Sign up for my Meeting Moderator Program here: LEARN MORE

Is there Training to become a Meeting Moderator?

YES! I am KNOWN for my skill of moderating. I realized there was an issue, and it needed a fix. Companies all over the country hold wasted meetings, and I can fix it!

I have personally made a course that you can purchase for your team members. They will get a series of videos from me PLUS 1-hour private coaching and the ability to ask questions via email after taking the course. They will also be added to a private Meeting Moderator group to help support each other.

When they finish this program...

• They will feel empowered to moderate any meeting, no matter who's in it.
• They will have a support system for when they feel they need additional coaching on fulfilling this role.
• They will know that you want to empower them for the company's betterment as a whole!

Join the waitlist here; I take students in batches. This is not your only option. You may have the perfect team member already in mind! All you need to do now is assign them this role and empower them! Download this helpful document to get your meeting moderator started!

Sign up for my Meeting Moderator Program here: LEARN MORE

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Sincerely,

Nicole Russell