Meeting Preparations: The Final Checks
by Susan Otto
 The meeting preparations are finished…or are they? Consider the following items prior to “finalizing” your meeting to ensure you will be conducting an effective meeting for all those needing to attend.
First, review your agenda. Being specific is critical. In other words, before the agenda is finalized, ask yourself:
- Have all the issues been noted?
- Is each item stated clearly?
- Has the agenda been organized in a logical format to give the most emphasis to the most important items?
Then, consider each item on the agenda, by asking yourself:
- Does the team have authority to act on this item?
- Can and/or should it be dealt with at another level?
- Is it an item for delegation?
- Does it concern at least three attendees of the meeting?
- Is it of high enough priority?
- Is there someone who will present the item?
- What preliminary consultations should be made?
Next, determine whether all these elements have been considered with regard to your meeting:
- Who
- What
- Where
- Why
- When
- How
In fact, to the extent possible, did you base the date and time of the meeting on the schedules of the key attendees?
If you will be leading the meeting, consider formulating an opening statement. It might include the purpose and expected results, background, team member’s roles, time constraints, and agenda priorities so that each attendee knows exactly what is to happen and what is expected of them. And, remember, the agenda can always be adjusted during the meeting, if absolutely necessary.
Clifford Terry in his article, Meetings, (Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine) says to, “establish a clear time frame for meetings – and keep them short! Meetings show diminishing returns after the first half hour, and little good can be expected to come after the first hour of the meeting. Establish a clear timeframe for the meeting. To encourage quick decisions, meet in a room without chairs."
Whether your meetings are long or short and/or with or without chairs, creating and distributing an effective agenda prior to its scheduled date and time is critical to conducting successful meetings. The meeting agenda is much too important to just “wing it,” so careful preparation should be given to ensure its success.
Just like any project, if the preparation is given sufficient time and effort, the project deployment seems easy and seamless. Let’s make our meetings easy and seamless…at least to the attendees. Let’s be respectful of everyone’s time by making time to plan our meetings so that they can be the best they can be!
(For more information on creating effective meetings, check out Meetings: A Roadmap to Success eWorkbook at www.Self-StudyCourse.com.)
Susan Otto, the president of Training-Modules.com, LLC, is committed to effectively partner with organizations and their employees to achieve strategic initiatives necessary for organizational success. Susan designs customized facilitator and participant guides for companies that want to do their own internal training. Contact her at 859.292.0095 or email her. For information about Susan’s training modules, visit the Modules section of Training-Modules.com.
 Article PDF
You may need the Adobe Acrobat Reader™ to view and print this document. You can download the FREE Reader at www.adobe.com.
Copyright 2010 Training-Modules.com, LLC. All rights reserved. While you may copy this publication, its content may not be modified. You may, and are encouraged to, share the publication with others who may benefit from receiving it.
|
