Whether you’re attending a meeting with your office employees or setting goals for business expansion by meeting with important partners, there are some things that you have to carry with you.
Before the pandemic, people used to spend about 50 days a year attending meetings. But now, a lot of things have changed, especially when it comes to online meetings.
So, if you want to be more than ready in face-to-face meetings, know what essentials you must carry to your next meeting with this list!
1. A list of the agenda
No meeting can be effectively conducted if the agenda isn’t clear. You need to write down the focal points of the meeting on a piece of paper and then add subsections to each main section.
The purpose of your meeting is to make all the individuals present updated and aware of what’s happening. And nobody will have any clue if you don’t have an agenda as to why the meeting is being held in the first place.
A few days before the meeting or even during, share the agenda with others so that even they know what will be discussed and how.
2. A laptop
In this age, a laptop is a must for every meeting. However, if some of the meeting participants attend online, conducting the meeting from a phone or a tablet will look unprofessional.
And even if everyone is present in the offline meeting, you will still need a laptop. You never know when you’ll have to open files and presentations to show to your team.
If you have a projection screen, you can link your laptop to it and show the presentation on the screen itself.
Otherwise, you can also ask everyone else to bring their own laptops, which will have the same files and presentation to stay on the same page.
3. A stack of business cards
If you pitch a business idea to new clients or potential business partners, you need to show your identity.
And there’s no better way to do it than distribute your company’s business cards after the meeting.
Always keep a full stack of cards in your briefcase or purse so you don’t have to rummage for them when someone asks you.
If you haven’t printed out your cards yet and are looking for something unique, try out an online business card. These NFC-based cards are ultra-stylish and helpful in making a good first impression.
4. Extra pen and paper
No matter how digital the world has become, carrying some extra notebooks and pens to the meeting is always a good idea.
You never know when the laptop might face a technical glitch or your phone’s notepad might suddenly stop working. In these circumstances, it’s best to write on your own.
Moreover, encouraging others to participate in the meeting by jotting down handwritten notes will also be a good way to send the message that people shouldn’t become too tech-dependent.
Carry some extra pens, too, in case the one you’re using breaks or the ink runs out.
5. Pen drives
Pen drives might not look like much, but they’re essential for storing files and folders. For example, if you want to share a file with someone who’s interested in your presentation, you can easily transfer it to the pen drive and give it to them.
Alternatively, if somebody wishes to send you an important digital document, you can instantly access it through the pen drive.
Keep about two or three pen drives with you, and ensure each contains a copy of the main presentation.
This way, even if the presentation on your laptop crashes, you can access it through the pen drive.
6. Perfume and breath mint
These items don’t have anything to do with the meeting itself, but carrying a small perfume sample and a packet of breath mints is still useful.
You may not realize it right away, but right before the meeting, if you see that you smell unappealing or that the lunch you had a while back has started to form an unpleasant taste in your mouth, it can make you feel embarrassed.
Moreover, the people attending the meeting might also have a poor impression of how you represent yourself, even if the meeting itself goes well. So keep these two items in your bag all the time.
Over to you…
The above items are absolutely essential for your big office meeting. So the next time you organize a meeting, don’t forget to refer to this list!
