Communication is the number 1 priority when working with people.

That’s why a lot of people don’t like meetings - they’re long, boring, and get side tracked so easily.

But no time for them is never an excuse. They’re important and need to be done right. While meetings in general can be a big topic, I’m just going to be talking for small teams where 1-on-1 is best.

1. First is to schedule them and to avoid postponing as much as possible. By putting them on a calendar will help you make sure you’ll have time for it.

2. Just call them 1 on 1’s and nothing else. The reason is to make them more conversational and more of a check in.

It’s important that it’s not a one sided conversation. It’s saying what needs to be said like anything goes method. Let it be an open discussion.

Have them be in person as much as possible or at least over video. Being able to see via physical cues helps a lot with understanding people.

The human connection is invaluable and should be highest priority.

1. There’s something to be said about bring up an issue from a past meeting into another. Especially if they’re constantly recurring.

So all talk and no action defeats the purpose of 1 on 1’s in the first place.

You must end every meeting with a gameplay so if you aren’t that’s what you need to consider. None of it matters if you don’t follow through.

So ask yourself these questions

• What can I hold accountable for the next meeting?
• What can I be accountable to the other person who is talking to me?

• Can you confirm the progress from the last meeting was productive? If yes, then you got the momentum to progress to other things.

• If you’re in a start up or a small company then you know you have to wear multiple hats or things just wouldn’t get done.

But when you’re expanding and you have more defined job titles, it’s best to start talking about the actual expectations of the roles.

Ignore this and people will wonder where they are at in their career.

1. When taking about ideas or things that aren’t fully fledged can be a problem and causes confusing to both people.

That’s why one-on-ones are suppose to clear up. It’s all about cutting out the fluff and getting to the point

1. Reduce as much time on stats updates. They’re on going and they can defeat the purpose when they’re going too long.

In a lot of meetings you do the ‘what, when, and why, that goes into discussion.

1. The one thing that a lot of people dread is having the hard conversations.

We’ve been there. The topics we don’t want to talk about but have to. When a person is venting the best thing to is listen.

Unless the venting is escalating or on a tangent, they shouldn’t be frowned upon. Some people just want to be heard and better to get it out of the way than have it worse later on.

1-on-1’s are a must have and to be embraced for small teams. They’ll help you grow and mend any problems. Remember the goal and how you can work together and not against.