Meetings are an inevitable part of running a business.
Taking the time to create meeting names with purpose can positively affect how people show up to those meetings, especially if you're trying to make a good impression on someone you’re meeting for the first time.
A lot of people don’t give this much thought, especially for one one one meetings. They write the first thing that comes to mind, which is usually, ‘Meeting with ________’ and the name of the person they’re meeting with.
The result of this hasty naming is that to the other person, it looks like they are meeting with themselves.
A bunch of meetings with myself is not very informative.
Sure, you can click on the meeting details and see the invites to remind yourself what’s actually happening.
Why do Meeting Names Matter?
If you’re trying to make a great first impression on someone new, the minor annoyance of seeing this ‘meeting with self’ every time they look at their calendar isn’t going to help your case.
I have a theory that people who name meetings this way are also the same folks who have websites that say things like “Welcome to our website” on the home page and a list of awards they’ve won instead of being visitor focused and talking about the problems they likely came to solve.
I’ve always said big things are made up of little things.
The Benefits of Better Meeting Names
Taking an extra few seconds to think about the meeting from the attendee’s perspective and create a name that gives instant context is one of those little things that can elevate you in the eyes of your attendee and help the meeting itself start off on a better note.
The more you can do to take the cognitive load off your attendee, the more goodwill you’ll create for your invitees, even if it’s subconscious.
There’s nothing like being able to see at a glance who you’re meeting with and why.
Set the Stage for a Productive Meeting
Here are some other things you can include, either in the name or the description, to set everyone up for maximum productivity.
- The purpose of the meeting
- How to prepare
- What you want to achieve
- Helpful references or links
What do you think? Have you gotten invitations like these? Do you take the time to think about your meeting names? Have I changed your mind in this post?
Next time you get invited to a meeting with yourself, share this article with them.
