Wondering what you need to plan the perfect meeting agenda?
Do you want to make sure your meeting runs smoothly and seamlessly?
Meeting management may seem complicated at first glance.
However, it’s no more complex than putting together a simple schedule for yourself during the day.
You just need to make sure you’ve organized information in a neat and orderly fashion.
In this post, you’ll a few items you may want to add to your meeting’s agenda.
These key items will allow you to keep track of time during the meeting.
It will also serve as a practical record of what took place during the meeting itself.
Meeting name
Every meeting agenda should include the name of the meeting to take place.
Not only does this make sense for planning purposes, it also helps to reduce confusion.
Who wants to sort through half a dozen agendas in order to find the one they need?
Date and time of the meeting
Be sure to the list the full date (day, month, and year) of your meeting.
You should also note the hours in which the meeting is to take place.
If you’re really keen about details, you may want to include the meeting location, such as a conference room, or company campus, for future reference.
Specific agenda items
A meeting is no time for vagueness: you want to be able to cover a specific item on the agenda, and then move on.
For example, if you were planning a summer happy hour party for your office, you’d do well to forgo “Plan happy hour party” from your agenda.
You’d replace the item in lieu of more detailed items, such as “Vote on party theme,” or “Brainstorm food shopping list.”
Amount of time for each agenda item
Keep your meeting on track by listing out a specific amount of time for each agenda item.
Not only will you know how long each agenda item should take, everyone else present at the meeting will too!
This technique also helps you to better plan the meeting.
If you know you only have one hour for a meeting, it obviously wouldn’t be a good idea to have half an hour of introductions.
In this case, three to five minutes would probably suffice.
Name next to each agenda item
Add the name of the person who is presenting, covering, leading, or reporting on a specific agenda item.
This allows both meeting organizers and participants to know exactly who will be covering what in a meeting.
Plus, it serves as a simple checklist to make sure all the presenters are actually present at the meeting.
Meeting introduction
Besides being a social courtesy, a meeting introduction helps to both welcome and prepare meeting attendees for what’s to come.
You can easily remind attendees about the meeting’s aims, goals, and presenters, as well as take care of any housekeeping issues, such as asking attendees to switch off, or silence their electronic devices.
Meeting wrap-up
For every beginning, there is an end.
A wrap-up session adds a nice bit of closure to any meeting.
You can use this time to reinforce ideas, concepts, takeaways, or decisions made during the meeting.
Learn how to run effective meetings
Meeting management is a time management skill that needs to be learned, practiced, and refined.
My time management guide will teach you how to prepare for and run effective meetings in your business.
If you want to manage your business’ meetings so they are effective and efficient, then check out my productivity consulting services. Book a strategy session with me today!
How about you? Are there any items you find helpful to include in a meeting agenda? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!
