Effective Meetings
Colin Williams
M3.33 Effective Meetings For Managers
The purpose of an agenda.
The purpose of the agenda is to facilitate the business of the meeting by providing a clear and concise list of the items to be dealt with.
An agenda is one of the most important elements for a productive meeting. The agenda communicates important information such as:
Topics for discussion
Presenter or discussion leader for each topic
Time allotment for each topic
Provides an outline for the meeting (how long to spend on which topics)
Can be used as a checklist to ensure that all information is covered
Let’s participants know what will be discussed if it’s distributed before the meeting. This gives them an opportunity to come to the meeting prepared for upcoming discussions or decisions
Provides a focus for the meeting (the objectives of the meeting must be clearly stated in the agenda).
How to prepare prior to a meeting.
Clarify the purpose of the meeting. If you can’t figure out what you need to accomplish, you shouldn’t be calling a meeting
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 good agenda includes not only discussion topics and their allotments, but also the names of the attendees, the location, date and time, and any list of any background material attendees need to bring with them. Circulate the agenda in advance.
Make it clear the meeting will start precisely on time. By doing this you will gain a reputation as someone whose meetings begin (and end) as scheduled, people will respect you for it.
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.
Leave time at the end of the agenda to evaluate the meeting e.g. did you achieve the objectives stated at the start? How can you improve future meetings on this topic?
The role and
M3.33 Effective Meetings For Managers
The purpose of an agenda.
The purpose of the agenda is to facilitate the business of the meeting by providing a clear and concise list of the items to be dealt with.
An agenda is one of the most important elements for a productive meeting. The agenda communicates important information such as:
Topics for discussion
Presenter or discussion leader for each topic
Time allotment for each topic
Provides an outline for the meeting (how long to spend on which topics)
Can be used as a checklist to ensure that all information is covered
Let’s participants know what will be discussed if it’s distributed before the meeting. This gives them an opportunity to come to the meeting prepared for upcoming discussions or decisions
Provides a focus for the meeting (the objectives of the meeting must be clearly stated in the agenda).
How to prepare prior to a meeting.
Clarify the purpose of the meeting. If you can’t figure out what you need to accomplish, you shouldn’t be calling a meeting
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 good agenda includes not only discussion topics and their allotments, but also the names of the attendees, the location, date and time, and any list of any background material attendees need to bring with them. Circulate the agenda in advance.
Make it clear the meeting will start precisely on time. By doing this you will gain a reputation as someone whose meetings begin (and end) as scheduled, people will respect you for it.
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.
Leave time at the end of the agenda to evaluate the meeting e.g. did you achieve the objectives stated at the start? How can you improve future meetings on this topic?
The role and