Definition:
A meeting agenda is the list of items that participants hope to accomplish at a meeting. The agenda should be distributed to participants several days in advance of a meeting, minimally 24 hours, so that participants have the opportunity to prepare for the meeting.
In combination with meeting minutes, the documentation that participants receive following a meeting, the agenda is the plan for the meeting and the reported follow-up for the prior meeting.
When you develop an agenda for a meeting that is not regularly scheduled, the following steps will assist you. Later in this article, you will see a template for a regularly scheduled meeting. The two types of meetings share similar agenda items, but are not exactly the same.
Developing a Meeting Agenda
First, identify whether other employees are needed to help you plan the meeting. Then, decide what you hope to accomplish by holding the meeting. Establish doable goals for your meeting. The goals you set will establish the framework for an effective meeting plan.
As Stephen Covey says in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, "Begin with the end in mind." Your meeting purpose will determine the meeting focus, the meeting agenda, and the meeting participants.
Building an agenda is making a plan for the meeting. You start with the main goal or purpose that you are trying to accomplish by holding the meeting. Once you have decided upon your goal, you need to determine whether you need the assistance of additional employees to plan your agenda. If yes, invite them to join you.
After determining your overall goal, you, or your team, need to make the following decisions. In addition to the purpose or goal for the meeting, each of these items appears on the meeting agenda.
• Needed participants for the actual meeting,
• The items that need discussion or action that will lead to the accomplishment of the goal or purpose,
• The amount of time that you anticipate the group will