We’ve all had meetings that were ineffective that waste time and money. Meetings aren’t always free, whether it’s because of the wrong people present or irrelevant discussions. A meeting agenda that’s efficient will allow you to achieve your meeting’s goals and help you achieve your company’s goals.
A clear and concise agenda ensures everyone knows what will be discussed during the meeting and helps prepare participants for the meeting. The best way to design an effective agenda for a meeting is to include these fundamental elements:
Make a list of all outcomes expected and the purpose of your meeting. This will help keep your attention on the most important points and prevent unnecessary side-bars.
Define the topics to be discussed for each item. This should include a brief description of the topic, who is responsible for the discussion and how much time must be allocated to the discussion. It is also important to include the location and the time zone of the meeting, particularly for remote teams.
In the case of collaboration, think about making each agenda item an open-ended question that will be answered by the group (i.e., “What steps do we need to take to rent equipment ?”). Each discussion point could be addressed as a query to encourage discussion and better understand what is expected during the meeting.
Include a description of the process you expect to follow for each her explanation item on the agenda. This is one of the most under-appreciated elements of a meeting and can significantly improve meeting effectiveness. Without a clearly defined process every participant will decide for themselves what to discuss, which could lead to off-topic conversations or even a meeting that goes off the rails. By adding a process that allows participants to modify their comments so that they are within the time limit or suggest additional time for a specific topic.