Since I’ve been really busy the last couple of weeks with a lot of meetings, i thought it would be a good idea to briefly talk about what makes meetings work. Most of it is common knowledge and common sense but you’ll be surprised what really goes on in corporate life.
Whether you’re creating an agenda, organising an off-site meeting or aiming to inject some fun into your next meeting, it’s all in the planning.
Step One:
Clarify the purpose of the meeting. If you can’t figure out what you need to accomplish, you shouldn’t be calling a meeting. The purpose of the meeting will help everyone stay focus and will determine the agenda.
Step Two:
Prepare an agenda with the focus stated in a single sentence at the top. If someone else is preparing the agenda, contact him or her to add your topics. A first-rate agenda includes not only discussion topics and their time allotments, but also the names of attendees; the location, date and time; and a list of any background material attendees need to bring with them. Circulate the agenda in advance. Make sure you allocate time at the end of the formal meeting to ask if anyone has any other business, known as AOB.
Step Three:
Make it clear that the meeting will start precisely on time. Establish a reputation as someone whose meetings begin (and end) as scheduled. People will respect you for it.
Step Four:
Appoint someone to document a record of decisions made, action items assigned and follow-up strategies agreed upon. Promptly distribute a copy to all attendees.
Step Five:
Leave time at the end of the agenda to evaluate the meeting: Did you achieve the objective stated at the start? How can you improve future meetings on this topic?
