Agendas Make Meetings Productive
Agendas Make Meetings Productive
1. Circulate
Share your agenda in good time, well before your meeting (with reading material for preview). This gives time for review, preparation and challenge.
2. Roles
In a meeting there are various roles to be taken on from the start. Chair, notetaker, facilitator, reviewer and other, more specific roles. These should be clearly stated on the agenda in advance of the meeting.
3. Items for Discussion
Items on your agenda need to be selected carefully and only be relevant for the grouping of people who get together. Time is precious, so make sure that when together, only things which need everyone's input are given time.
4. Set Timings
Get clear on your agenda just how long the meeting will last and how long will be devoted to individual items on it. This gives clear indications of what will happen in meeting.
5. Ground Rules
Within your agenda will be some rules of how the meeting process will work. It is important to set standards of behaviour which everyone signs up to.
6. AOB
Often included in agendas, this item is one that really should not be there. Good preplanning before the agenda goes out should mean that all items are included at that point and, where dispute occurs, the meeting lead takes a decision. AOB can easily take a meeting off the rails and lead to missing time agreements.
7. Action Points
As the meeting progresses there will be action points that individual meeting members will be accountable for. By having a spot on the agenda for a quick review, prior to circulating these in writing, everyone will be clear on what is expected of them.
8. Parked Items
Sometimes during a meeting, items arise which whilst important, are outside the scope of that particular meeting. So by both 'parking' them during the meeting, thus validating their importance, and having a specific point to check the next steps for them is clear, they do receive attention. This then allows the meeting purpose to be maintained.
9. Next Meeting
By ensuring the date of the next meeting is an agenda item, this serves three purposes
1. It indicates to the meeting attendees follow up meetings
2. It gives an indication of when agreed action points from the meeting are likely to be required
3. Finally, it reminds the person responsible for the agenda to agree a clear date during the meeting - if not, it is likely to slip.
10. Meeting Review
Your agenda should also be an ongoing learning tool. As such, and to ensure your meetings truly make a difference, there is a real benefit in reviewing how things have worked in the meeting - for all participants. Agenda it.
Martin Haworth is a business and management coach and trainer, working with a range of clients from corporates to individuals worldwide. www.MartinHaworth.com
Agendas Make Meetings Productive - To learn more about this author, visit Martin Haworth's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Having an agenda template that works well for you, week in, week out, creates a consistency which gets your people bought into the process. Delivering an efficiency and effectiveness which makes the most of the valuable time you have together. Key points to note are:-
1. Circulate
Share your agenda in good time, well before your meeting (with reading material for preview). This gives time for review, preparation and challenge.
2. Roles
In a meeting there are various roles to be taken on from the start. Chair, notetaker, facilitator, reviewer and other, more specific roles. These should be clearly stated on the agenda in advance of the meeting.
3. Items for Discussion
Items on your agenda need to be selected carefully and only be relevant for the grouping of people who get together. Time is precious, so make sure that when together, only things which need everyone's input are given time.
4. Set Timings
Get clear on your agenda just how long the meeting will last and how long will be devoted to individual items on it. This gives clear indications of what will happen in meeting.
5. Ground Rules
Within your agenda will be some rules of how the meeting process will work. It is important to set standards of behaviour which everyone signs up to.
6. AOB
Often included in agendas, this item is one that really should not be there. Good preplanning before the agenda goes out should mean that all items are included at that point and, where dispute occurs, the meeting lead takes a decision. AOB can easily take a meeting off the rails and lead to missing time agreements.
7. Action Points
As the meeting progresses there will be action points that individual meeting members will be accountable for. By having a spot on the agenda for a quick review, prior to circulating these in writing, everyone will be clear on what is expected of them.
8. Parked Items
Sometimes during a meeting, items arise which whilst important, are outside the scope of that particular meeting. So by both 'parking' them during the meeting, thus validating their importance, and having a specific point to check the next steps for them is clear, they do receive attention. This then allows the meeting purpose to be maintained.
9. Next Meeting
By ensuring the date of the next meeting is an agenda item, this serves three purposes
1. It indicates to the meeting attendees follow up meetings
2. It gives an indication of when agreed action points from the meeting are likely to be required
3. Finally, it reminds the person responsible for the agenda to agree a clear date during the meeting - if not, it is likely to slip.
10. Meeting Review
Your agenda should also be an ongoing learning tool. As such, and to ensure your meetings truly make a difference, there is a real benefit in reviewing how things have worked in the meeting - for all participants. Agenda it.
Martin Haworth is a business and management coach and trainer, working with a range of clients from corporates to individuals worldwide. www.MartinHaworth.com
Agendas Make Meetings Productive - To learn more about this author, visit Martin Haworth's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Martin's articles
 |
|
Coaching Businesses to Success - Coaching Businesses to Success News Updates
|
|
 |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Host Beneficiary Marketing Effectiveness Delegation Workbook Best Cover Letter 100 Success Tips |
|
 | ||
 |
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
