Making Meetings Work
Simple Reminders for Meeting Success
- Before a Meeting
- Create a goal statement and distribute the goal with the meeting agenda
- Determine who needs to attend the meeting (identify who is a "must have" and who are "back-ups")
- Send out meeting notice in advance (try to provide at least seven days notice)
- If pre-work is required, be specific in stating requirements
- Pick a neutral meeting location, if possible
- During a Meeting
- Start and finish on time
- Post the meeting's goal/objectives so everyone can see them
- Post and follow a prepared agenda, with assigned time frames
- Establish meeting guidelines and roles at the start of each meeting
- Capture and post "action items"
- Present and evaluate information
- Close with "next steps"
- Ending a Meeting
- Ten minutes before the meeting is over: "Lets wrap it up, we need to be out of here in five minutes"
- Summarize the proceedings, review the meeting's purpose and ask if it has been achieved; summarize the events, accentuate the positive results
- Determine next steps
- Thank participants
- Assessing the Meeting
- What happened?
- What was accomplished?
- What was not accomplished (but still needs to be done)?
- Following a Meeting
- Document and distribute meeting minutes, including "action" items
- Distribute minutes within 24 hours, if possible - this establishes momentum for getting the work done