Use an Agenda to Make the Most of your Meetings

 Whether you are a stay-at-home-mother or a corporate worker, you will likely have your share of meetings this year.  A mother may need to organize meetings for the local church food drive or for the school PTA, while a corporate worker may be planning meetings with important clients.  The point is that no matter who you are, you should always know how to organize a great meeting.  The first step, after scheduling a time, date, and location, in organizing a meeting is planning the agenda.  Agenda planning is a step that you simply cannot skip when it comes to a successful meeting.  If you are unsure how to plan an agenda, use these steps to get you started.

Style

The general style for an agenda is an outline form.  This will allow you to document the main issues with just a few words.  For example, if you are planning to discuss the pizza fundraiser, you would only need to add “Pizza Fundraiser” to the agenda.  There would be no need to go into any further detail about the fundraiser.  Those who attend the meeting will be able to hear the details directly from you or the speaker and will be able to take their own notes.  Being concise will help you create your agenda in very little time.  This is the standard format, so don’t be afraid you are being too vague.  

Information

Choosing what information should go onto the agenda can be tricky.  If the meeting is a recurring event, then you probably want to begin by adding a section devoted to recapping what happened at the last meeting.  For instance, if your meeting occurs every month, write a “Last Month’s Recap” section and spend just a few moments going over what was accomplished.  Then you can proceed to current sections.  Add each main point that you plan on discussing.  If there are formal activities that must be done, such as voting on issues, be sure to add that as a bullet on your agenda.  Adding the names and introductions of guest speakers is great as well.  This will allow everyone to get the proper spelling of the guest’s name.  When you are adding information to the agenda, keep in mind your meeting’s time frame.  Do not add a bundle of information that you will not likely get around to discussing.  If you are heading the meeting, do not be afraid to say “We must move on from this issue right now”, if you are going over on one issue.  

Closing

Adding a small closing to the agenda is the perfect way to end your memo.  You can add a little section with notes about what will be discussed at the next meeting.  Adding the date, time, and location of upcoming events is also a great idea.  You can also add a little “thank you” section to those who participated or headed certain tasks throughout the month.  If you are having a corporate meeting, you can also add goals or deadlines that everyone should be aware of.  It is up to you on what to add to the closing section.  

Contact Information

It is important for you to include any important contact information the members of the meeting might need on the agenda.  Many times the agenda is something that members of the meeting will keep and utilize in the future.  Therefore, any important contact information of clients, directors, and other members should be included somewhere on the agenda.  This is a great organizational tip and will help avoid questions later regarding this information.  

If you are in charge of an upcoming meeting, you should not avoid planning an agenda.  An agenda will help you stay on track, especially if you are nervous about the meeting.  It will also give the members of the meeting a chance to stay focused on the information being presented.  They will have an outline to add notes to and something to refer back to after the meeting is over.  If you want to hold a professional meeting, you must never do so without an agenda.  So go ahead and create one.  It only takes a few moments and will help you greatly.