Effective meetings aren’t the result of luck. They take time, effort, and lots of planning to ensure everyone feels like they’ve gained something from the experience. They take time, effort and a lot of planning to ensure that everyone walks home feeling that they’ve learned something important from the experience.
Understanding the purpose of the meeting is essential for preparing for it. What do the participants need to achieve by the end of the meeting? This is the “Why” of the meeting, and it’s what drives the decision-making process, discussion topics, and the outcomes. It’s essential to adhere to one purpose so that the participants can remain focused.
Before the meeting starts, make sure to ask questions that are clear and share the questions with the other members of the team to help them prepare for the meeting. Doing nothing until the meeting to ask questions wastes a lot of valuable time during the session that could be better spent on other things.
Creating an agenda is another key aspect of meeting preparation and it’s crucial to make it an open and transparent process to everyone. The agenda gives structure to the meeting and makes sure that it stays on track.
It’s also a good idea to assign one person to be the time keeper and note keeper, so they can ensure that the meeting starts at the right time and that agenda items are discussed in a proper order. It’s a good idea to designate an individual to distribute notes after the meeting to ensure that all crucial details are recorded.
