Guidelines for Effective Meetings
What are the problems with some meetings?
l There are too many of them
l They are too long
l Agendas contain too much
l Meetings compete with other important meetings and events
l Too many participants
l People who should be at the meeting are not
l People who should not be at the meeting are there
l The meeting is poorly planned
l The meeting is called for an insufficient reason
l Poor meeting leadership
l Meeting ends without concluding the business at hand
l Participants are unprepared or poorly prepared
What to avoid- Factors that lead to the failure of meetings
l Lack of notification which leaves little or no time for people to adequately prepare.
l No Agenda
l Wrong people in attendance
l Lack of control – participants have little or no influence on decisions
l Lack of clear consensus or conclusion
l Poor documentation of decisions
What makes for a good meeting
l It has a purpose, all participants know and understand
l It has an agenda organized to achieve that purpose
l People are invited to be there either as contributors or to gain something from it
l Participants understand their roles, come prepared, make contributions
l The meeting sticks to the agenda, and accomplishes work with no wasted time
l Visual presentations are clear, sharp, and colourful and are used whenever possible
l The chair of the meeting summarizes what has been accomplished
l Post meeting follow-up is organized
Setting the Agenda
l Limit the number of agenda items - 3 to 6 is good
l Allocate ample time – allow time for questions and discussion
l Include sufficient detail in the agenda so that participants understand what is to be accomplished and so they can prepare adequately
l Assure the first topic unites the group and then handle the most difficult items early in the meeting
l Circulate the agenda before hand and invite suggestions
l What to include:
l Title of the meeting
l Time and location
l Theme and definition – what is meeting about and what are topics
l Attendees and identify who will lead the meeting
l Topics including a brief title and short description of the problem or goal you hope to achieve.
Ending meetings
l Conclude with:
l Actions or decisions. Relate them to be stated meeting objective
l Review the participant’s expectations for the meeting. Were they met?
l Clarify what is to happen next, who is to carry it out, and what form the report, if any, will take
l If another meeting is required the leader has to mention it at this point
l Assure the participants that meeting minutes will follow within one to two days and will include agreed-upon action items