Planning a Meeting
Running and facilitating meetings requires the right amount of preparation
There’s a lot more to a business meeting than just getting the relevant people into a room and waiting for the magic and ingenuity to happen. As with anything, it requires good planning.
The importance of an agenda for any meeting is second to none!
It provides much of the crucial information discussed above to all of the attendees. An agenda should concisely state why the meeting is happening and what the desired outcome is. It should also contain a schedule allocating a time frame to each point of discussion, allowing you, the host, and participants to plan and stay on track.
Having a checklist is the first step towards making sure a meeting runs smoothly and stays on track. Key areas to consider are:
Purpose/focus of meeting
What is the meeting about? Be very precise about what the objectives are and whether or not the decision-making could be conducted in another way.
Who should be present?
At the very least there should be a leader and a person in charge of taking - and circulating - notes. Also bear in mind that in the age of video/ audio conference technology, not everyone need necessarily be there in person.
How often should the meeting be held?
Is this meeting a one-off troubleshooting session or is it part of a regular sequence of meetings? If the latter, does it need to occur with the frequency it has done in the past? Is it appropriate to the work calendar?
Refreshments
If lunch is required, contact participants in advance to confirm any special dietary requirements they might have ie: vegetarian/vegan, gluten-free, nut-allergy etc. It may be necessary to consult a dietary guide for some requirements. This WILL be remembered in the feedback!
Equipment
At the centre of every meeting should be a good quality whiteboard. Flipcharts are also ideal for recording ideas. Make sure that you have a good supply of quality marker pens, erasers, pencils and spare flipchart pads. Make the meeting visually engaging and stylish!
Venue
Make sure the venue is accessible to all and is of the appropriate size. Too large a space can be intimidating, too small a space can be cramped and debilitating. Make sure that the venue can support the technology that you require.
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Finally and most importantly...
Were the objectives on the agenda met?
The agenda is a document that you can look back on to determine whether it was a successful meeting.
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Types of Meeting
Meetings range from the formal to the informal; the structured to the ad-hoc....
Planning a Meeting
There’s a lot more to a business meeting than just getting the relevant
people into a room and waiting for the magic and ingenuity to happen.
Meeting Leadership and Facilitation
Meetings can be energetic and fun.
But fun can quickly turn into an unproductive free-for-all if the leader
(you) isn’t keeping a handle on the proceedings.
Good Meeting Manners
There are really no hard and fast rules for this. Etiquette and manners themselves can change, but a basic framework can be a useful tool.