Another email filled with another reason why another person could not attend my meeting. It was frustrating, and demoralizing all at the same time. Why were they cancelling? Didn’t they mark their calendars months ago? What was I missing?
These days it’s hard to plan a meeting because everyone is so busy. Half the battle is finding a date that works for everyone, the other half is getting them to show up, and that’s because our time is valuable. If you want to take the struggle out of convincing people to show up you need to:
SHOW THEM THAT THEIR TIME AND EFFORT IS VALUABLE TO YOU
To get that done isn’t always easy, but it’s simple and it starts by:
GIVING YOUR MEETINGS PURPOSE
It’s the big question, “Why?” that you need to answer for the parents, teens or volunteers you want to attend. It’s the:
- Why is this worth giving up my time?
- Why is this have to happen in person and not via email?
- Why is it important that I be present?
As a leader you need to be able to answer those questions so that you can motivate people to overcome the obstacles they may face agreeing to the meeting. Clearly communicate and state it in your invitation.
PREPARING WELL IN ADVANCE
Don’t wing it. That means preparing well in advance and being ready to go well before people show up. Preparing well in advance means:
- Knowing and communicating the agenda ahead of time
- Having the room and all your resources ready to go when they show up
- Understanding what you want discussed and communicated
If you need assistance share your proposed agenda with others ahead of time. Ask them to speak into it and find someone to help you put the meeting into motion. People will come to your meetings if they know your organized.
GETTING ON THEIR RADAR
Invitations need to be made more than once. In fact if you aren’t sending reminders, and updates don’t expect people to show. Utilize as many forms of communication from texting to posting on the bulletin. Remember people consume their information in different ways. If you can remind them to add it to their calendar. Give them directions and make it as simple as possible to attend.
BUILDING THE BUZZ WITH OTHERS
Don’t take on the burden of getting people to attend on your own. Ask your key leaders, coworkers or other people involved to spread word. Have them share with others why they are going and stress on the key points (What you want them to know and why) of the meeting. If people know that they aren’t the only ones who will show up they’ll be more likely to commit themselves.
Above all else make your meetings efficient and memorable. If people come once and feel like their time is wasted they might not want to come back again. Remember that people are sacrificing their time and energy to be with you; therefore, make it worth it. Build up a reputation of great meetings and you will have less of a problem gathering people in the future.
What do you find helps people attend your meetings?
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