How to plan a business meeting
Checklist for planning your next big d business review theory, everyone understands that preparation can make or break an important meeting. Our checklist makes meeting prep quick and easy—be sure to print it out or save it for later. Clarifying the purpose of your meeting is the first and most important planning step—this will drive all of the other elements of your sure you really need a ’t pile on another meeting without thinking about other ways to accomplish your goal first. It’s better not to meet if:You don’t have time to r method of communication would work just as ’re dealing with a sensitive topic or a personnel issue that would be better handled need to solicit a number of individuals’ p a preliminary out a sequence for the meeting. Plan time for a brief introduction to provide context, and for a discussion of next steps at the end. The longer your meeting, the harder it will be for people to remain focused, so it’s wise to underestimate how much your group can cover in the allotted g meetings (20-minute manager series). The right er who can help you accomplish your goal and who will be affected by the meeting’s outcome. Be conscious of the ripple effects your meeting can have on people’s time across the organization—and only invite those who absolutely have to be roles to participants a specific role to play can increase focus and engagement. One advantage: you can ask an expert to attend just part of the meeting, keeping their contribution where and when to hold the meeting and confirm availability of the meeting space helps to set the tone. The invitation and preliminary agenda to key participants and sure attendees know the purpose of the meeting. Consider sending a personal invitation in addition to a calendar invite—or chatting in person with the invitee—if there’s a chance the invitation will go unnoticed or if you want to make sure that a key participant will any reports, pre-reading, or requests for materials that may require preparation from out any pre-reading a day or two in advance of your meeting and make it clear that participants are expected to review materials before they arrive.
Planning a business meeting
Also, be prepared to highlight key takeaways from the reading for those who haven’t had time to fy the decision-making process that will be used in the a decision-making method ahead of time to ensure that you leave your meeting with a clear ty vote allows every voice to be heard and is generally viewed as fair—but be aware that it may be difficult for some to declare their opinion consensus allows participants to share their expertise and enhances the chance for buy-in from all ’s choice is usually the fastest approach, so is most appropriate in a crisis. As a result, you may need to work harder to get skeptics on board, especially during fy, arrange for, and test any required if you’ll be using collaboration or productivity tools (like googledocs, a screen-sharing service, or an audio recording device) during your meeting. Confirm and check the meeting space and set up or test any necessary equipment ahead of time. This step seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes it’s hard to make time for logistical details—and you don’t want to waste any of your carefully planned meeting troubleshooting technology issues. Make sure you’re ready to lead the discussion for each agenda item or that you’ve assigned items to appropriate up with invitees in person, if in with people who haven’t responded to your invitation or who need to be in the room in order to have a productive meeting. Doing the work to prepare will boost your confidence and set you up for a successful article was adapted from running meetings (20-minute manager series). Article is about to plan a business to network with your ng in the workplace all-in-one for dummies cheat ss ethics for dummies cheat ss nlp for dummies cheat sshuman resourcesworkplacehow to plan a business to plan a business ss etiquette for dummies, 2nd sue fox planning a business meeting can be a thankless job. How you plan a business meeting goes unnoticed unless something at the business meeting goes wrong — and that kind of recognition is never good. Plan your next business meeting to run smoothly:Determine the meeting’s why you’re holding the meeting and what you hope to accomplish. Meeting can be a good way to disseminate information to several people, perhaps from different businesses, at the same time. A meeting allows for eye contact, body language, and opportunities to ask questions so as to clarify the information.
On the other hand, a meeting may not be a good idea if the information is unlikely to generate e what the meeting will cover. An agenda helps participants prepare for the meeting, which minimizes choruses of the always-popular, “i’ll have to get back to you on that. A complete agenda includes a list of topics to be covered, assignments of who should be prepared to cover each topic, time estimates for discussion of each topic, and start and end le the ling a meeting can be tough, and it gets more complicated with every added participant. In some cases, you have to schedule a time that’s convenient for the most important players and ask the other participants to rearrange their of g technique - general ian's communication theory - verbal, non-verbal, body language tation skills and techniques to chair a gs - how to plan and run meetings language - david grove questioning method torming for team building and problem solvingexperiential learningjohari window model and free diagramsteam building games training ideas and tipsworkshops - format and how to runrole playing and role play games process and tipstuckman's forming storming norming performing modelgames, tricks, puzzles and warm ups for groupsquizballs - 1000's of free quiz questions and answers for learning and fungames and exercises for groups and team gs - how to plan and run meetingshere are the rules for running meetings. Properly run meetings save time, increase motivation, productivity, and solve r-friendly versionmeetings - how to plan and run meetingstable of contents1. Planning and running effective meetings for business, corporate, sales, managing, mediation, strategic planning and team-building1. And running effective meetings for business, corporate, sales, managing, mediation, strategic planning and choice of structure and style in running an effective meeting is hugely dependent on several factors:the situation (circumstances, mood, atmosphere, background, etc)the organisational context (the implications and needs of the business or project or organisation)the team, or the meeting delegates (the needs and interests of those attending)you yourself (your own role, confidence, experience, your personal aims, etc)your position and relationship with the teamand of course the aims of the will always be more than one aim, because aside from the obvious reason(s) for the meeting, all meetings bring with them the need and opportunity to care for and/or to develop people, as individuals and/or as a you run a meeting you are making demands on people's time and attention. When you run meeting you have an authority to do so, which you must use applies also if the people at the meeting are not your direct reports, and even if they are not a part of your er the apparent reason for the meeting, you have a responsibility to manage the meeting so that it is a positive and helpful experience for all who this aim, alongside the specific meeting objective(s), will help you develop an ability and reputation for running effective meetings that people are happy to a good understanding of other areas of management, including many featured on this website, will improve your overall ability to run meetings, for example:delegationgoal planningproject managementthe tuckman model of team maturity and developmentthe tannenbaum and schmidt model of team developmentpersonality and stylesfacilitative decision-making (sharon drew morgen's methodology - it's not just for selling)ethical and social responsibility considerations (ethical reference points are essential) meetings - basic is a solid basic structure for most types of meetings. This assumes you have considered properly and decided that the meeting is necessary, and also that you have decided (via consultation with those affected if necessary or helpful) what sort of meeting to - use the agenda as a planning toolcirculate the meeting agenda in advancerun the meeting - keep control, agree outcomes, actions and responsibilities, take noteswrite and circulate notes - especially actions and accountabilitiesfollow up agreed actions and responsibilitiesmeetings come in all shapes and sizes, and for lots of g purposes include:giving informationtrainingdiscussion (leading to an objective)generating ideasplanningworkshopsconsulting and getting feedbackfinding solutions/solving problemscrisis managementperformance reporting/assessmentsetting targets and objectivessetting tasks and delegatingmaking decisionsconveying /clarifying policy issuesteam buildingmotivatingspecial subjects - guest speakersinter-departmental - process improvementthe acronym postad tv helps to remember how to plan effective meetings, and particularly how to construct the meeting agenda, and then notify the meeting delegates:priorities, outcomes, sequence, timings, agenda, date, time, venue. Decide the issues for inclusion in the meeting and their relative priority: importance and urgency - they are quite different and need treating in different ways. Matters that are both urgent and important are clearly serious priorities that need careful planning and can avoid the pressure for 'any other business' at the end of the meeting if you circulate a draft agenda in advance of the meeting, and ask for any other items for consideration.
Any other business' often creates a free-for-all session that wastes time, and gives rise to new tricky expectations, which if not managed properly then closes the meeting on a negative note. Typical types of outcomes are:decisiondiscussioninformationplanning (eg workshop session)generating ideasgetting feedbackfinding solutionsagreeing (targets, budgets, aims, etc)policy statementteam-building/motivationguest speaker - information, initiatives, etc. Non-urgent items place down the agenda - if you are going to miss any you can more easily afford to miss to achieve a varied mix through the running order - if possible avoid putting heavy controversial items together - vary the agenda to create changes in pace and aware of the tendency for people to be at their most sensitive at the beginning of meetings, especially if there are attendees who are keen to stamp their presence on proceedings. The time required for the various items rather than habitually or arbitrarily decide the length of the meeting. Keep the timings realistic - usually things take longer than you meetings involving travel for delegates require pre-meeting refreshments 30 minutes prior to the actual meeting start plenty of breaks into long meetings. Working lunches are great, but make sure you give people 10-15 minutes to get some fresh air and move about outside the meeting room. If the venue is only able to provide lunch in the restaurant, arrange a buffet, or if a sit-down meal is unavoidable save some time by the giving delegates' menu choices to the restaurant earlier in the 's not essential, but it is usually helpful, to put precise (planned) times for each item on the agenda. What is essential however is for you to have thought about and planned the timings so you can run the sessions according to a schedule. This is one of the biggest responsibilities of the person running the meeting, and is a common failing, so plan and manage this aspect firmly. Consider inviting representatives from other departments to your own department meetings - if relationships are not great they will often appreciate being asked, and it will help their understanding of your issues, and your understanding of outside guests from internal and external suppliers helps build relationships and strengthen the chain of supply, and they can often also shed new light on difficult issues too. Use your discretion though - certain sensitive issues should obviously not be aired with 'outsiders' and resist senior managers and directors attending your meetings unless you can be sure that their presence will be positive, and certainly not intimidating.
Senior people are often quick to criticise and pressurise without knowing the facts, which can damage team relationships, morale, motivation and you must have the boss at your meeting, try to limit their involvement to lunch only, or presenting the awards at the end of the meeting. In any event, tell your boss what you are trying to achieve at the meeting and how - this gives you more chance in controlling possible interference. So take care when finding the best date - it's a very important part of the process, particularly if senior people are meetings that repeat on a regular basis the easiest way to set dates is to agree them in advance at the first meeting when everyone can commit there and then. Try to schedule a year's worth of meetings if possible, then you can circulate and publish the dates, which helps greatly to ensure people keep to them and that no other priorities -planning meeting dates is one of the keys to achieving control and well-organised meetings. Conversely, leaving it late to agree dates for meetings will almost certainly inconvenience people, which is a major source of lly try to consult to get agreement of best meeting dates for everyone, but ultimately you will often need to be firm. Meeting to start and finish depend on the type and duration of the meeting and the attendees' availability, but generally try to start early, or finish at the end of the working day. Two-hour meetings in the middle of the day waste a lot of time in travel. Breakfast meetings are a good idea in certain cultures, but can be too demanding in more relaxed environments. By the same token, consider people's travelling times after the meeting, and don't be unreasonable - again offer overnight accommodation if warranted - it will allow a later finish, and generally keep people with other aspects of the meeting arrangements, if in doubt always ask people what they prefer. Meeting meetings are relatively informal, held in meeting rooms 'on-site' and do not warrant extensive planning of the venue as such. On the other hand, big important meetings held off-site at unfamiliar venues very definitely require a lot of careful planning of the venue layout and facilities.
Plan the venue according to the situation - leave nothing to choice is critical for certain sensitive meetings, but far less so for routine, in-house gatherings. It's too late to start hunting for a 20ft power extension lead five minutes before the meeting aspects that you need to check or even set up personally are:table and seating layouttop-table (if relevant) positiontables for demonstration items, paperwork, hand-outs, etcelectricity power points and extensionsheating and lighting controlsprojection and flip chart equipment positioning and correct operationwhereabouts of toilets and emergency exits - fire drillconfirm reception and catering arrangementsback-up equipment contingencyall of the above can and will go wrong unless you check and confirm - when you book the venue and then again a few days before the a big important meeting, you should also arrive an hour early to check everything is as you want it. Some meetings are difficult enough without having to deal with domestic or logistics emergencies; and remember if anything goes wrong it reflects on you - it's your credibility, reputation and control that's at oning of seating and tables is important, and for certain types of meetings it's crucial. Ensure the layout is appropriate for the occasion:formal presentations to large groups - theatre-style - the audience in rows, preferably with tables, facing the -sized participative meetings - horse-shoe (u) table layout with the open part of the u facing the chairman's table, or delegates' tables arranged 'cabaret' meetings for debate and discussion - board-room style - one rectangular table with chairman at one d team meetings for planning and creative sessions - lounge style, with easy chairs and coffee own positioning in relation to the group is important. Most business users treat hotel and conference staff disdainfully - show them some respect and appreciation and they will be more than helpful. Meeting planner 's a lot to remember, so, particularly for big important meetings and training sessions, use a meetings checklist to make sure you plan properly and don't miss anything:meetings checklist donecommentsdate/refagenda priorities outcomes sequence timings attendees date time venue variety notification notes of last meeting directions/map materials (as required by agenda items) reference material for ad-hoc queries results and performance data equipment (make separate check-list) electrical power (if applicable) domestics catering arrangements note-paper, pens, name-plates refreshments guest care/instructions meeting e the meeting agenda. If you want to avoid having the ubiquitous and time-wasting 'any other business' on your agenda, circulate the agenda well in advance and ask for additional items to be submitted for agendas for board meetings and committees will normally have an established fixed format, which applies for every meeting. This type of formal agenda normally begins with:apologies for absenceapproval of previous meeting's minutes (notes)matters arising (from last meeting)and then the main agenda, finishing with 'any other business'. More common, informal meetings (departmental, sales teams, projects, ad-hoc issues, etc), try to avoid the formality and concentrate on practicality. Plan coffee breaks and a lunch break if relevant, and ensure the caterers are informed. Aside from these formal breaks you should allow natural 'comfort' breaks every 45-60 minutes, or people lose concentration and the meeting becomes less productive.
Meeting title) monthly sales meeting - new co - southern region(venue, time, date) conference room, new co, newtown - 0900hrs monday 09/05/04 agendacoffee available from 0830hrs - dress is smart casual. Concentrate on achieving the outcomes you set the meeting when you drew up the agenda. Practice and use the phrase 'you may have a point, but it's not for this meeting - we'll discuss it another time. If you don't know the answer say so - be honest - don't waffle - say that you'll get back to everyone with the answer, or append it to the meeting someone persistently moans on about a specific issue that is not on the agenda, quickly translate it into a simple exploratory or investigative project, and bounce it back to them, with a deadline to report back their findings and recommendations to the rules on delegation to help you manage people and tasks and outcomes through look at how people are behaving in meetings - look for signs of tiredness, exasperation, and confusion, and take necessary a general rule, don't deviate from the agenda, but if things get very heavy, and the next item is very heavy too, swap it around for something participative coming later on the agenda - a syndicate exercise, or a team game, a quiz, etc. Meetings notes or meetings is a simple structure for formal meeting notes involving a group of people within an organisation:heading: for example - notes of management meeting (if a one-off meeting to consider a specific issue then include purpose in the heading as appropriate)date and time:venue:present:apologies for absence:in attendance: (if appropriate - guests not normally present at regular meetings, for instance speakers or non-board-members at board meetings)followed by numbered agenda items, typically:1. Matters arising: (items arising from meeting or continued from previous meeting which would not be covered by normal agenda items)and then other items as per agenda, for example (these are some of the many possible typical reports and meeting items discussed within a business or board meeting; other types of meetings would have different item headings):3. Date of next meetingtime meeting finished (normally for formal meetings only)signed and dated as a true record (signed by the chair-person - normally for formal meetings only)writer's initials, file reference and date (useful on all types of meeting notes)normally the items and points within each item are numbered 1. Antly, all actions agreed in the meeting need to be allocated to persons present at the meeting. It is not normally appropriate or good practice to allocate an action to someone who is not present at the meeting. Modern meeting notes should ideally concentrate on actions and s should if possible be circulated in advance of meetings giving delegates adequate time to read and formulate reactions and answers to any queries raised. It is not good practice to table a report at a meeting if opportunity exists to circulate the report s can be appended to the meeting notes or minutes to which they relate.
Meeting notes g: date and time:venue:present:apologies for absence:in attendance:notes, agreements and actions (change item headings as applicable)person responsible for each action agreed1. S initials, file reference and date: mediation and running mediation you have a clear agenda - ensure both sides submit items for inclusion - the agenda is the method by which you control the meeting (timings, items being discussed, staying on track, realistically intended outcomes from agenda items). Understanding is different to agreeing - very important to keep explaining this - by understanding each other there can be constructive debate towards agreement, without understanding, any agreement is impossible, so too is sensible adult to agree the meeting aims with the attendees before the start - important to keep this realistic - don't try to reach agreement too early - concentrate on developing mutual understanding and to diffuse conflict and emotional issues which make it impossible to move on any the gulf is too big to make any progress at all, suggest a job swap or shadow for a week - the chief of each side should experience the other side's challenges and day-to-day difficulties. This will certainly improve mutual understanding and can accelerate improvement in cooperation and the rules of running meetings where helpful so that you plan the meeting and keep you seat people at the meeting mix them up to avoid adversarial one-side-facing-the-other situation, which will happen unless you split them up. Strategic planning, goal setting 's a simple process for an effective strategic planning meeting:(this assumes that necessary market research and consultation with staff, customers and suppliers has already taken place. Start with the vision - what do we want this business to be in two years time?... This will result in the basic timescale and strategic to add an extra dimension to the meeting and planning process - and too reinforce relationships with your most important customers, suppliers and partners - invite some of them along to the meeting to contribute, validate ideas and collaborate. It's a particularly useful way to make the the session more dynamic and meaningful, as well as keeping the focus on the real d torming for team building and problem solvingexperiential learningjohari window model and free diagramsteam building games training ideas and tipsworkshops - format and how to runrole playing and role play games process and tipstuckman's forming storming norming performing modelgames, tricks, puzzles and warm ups for groupsquizballs - 1000's of free quiz questions and answers for learning and fungames and exercises for groups and team of g technique - general ian's communication theory - verbal, non-verbal, body language tation skills and techniques to chair a gs - how to plan and run meetings language - david grove questioning method torming for team building and problem solvingexperiential learningjohari window model and free diagramsteam building games training ideas and tipsworkshops - format and how to runrole playing and role play games process and tipstuckman's forming storming norming performing modelgames, tricks, puzzles and warm ups for groupsquizballs - 1000's of free quiz questions and answers for learning and fungames and exercises for groups and team gs - how to plan and run meetingshere are the rules for running meetings. It's a particularly useful way to make the the session more dynamic and meaningful, as well as keeping the focus on the real d torming for team building and problem solvingexperiential learningjohari window model and free diagramsteam building games training ideas and tipsworkshops - format and how to runrole playing and role play games process and tipstuckman's forming storming norming performing modelgames, tricks, puzzles and warm ups for groupsquizballs - 1000's of free quiz questions and answers for learning and fungames and exercises for groups and team working, groups and ng and structuring effective skillsyouneed:Interpersonal skills:A - z list of interpersonal ersonal skills nal -working, groups and introduction to groups and ng group ive ult group ng and structuring effecting -setting for role of the skillsyouneed guide to interpersonal on-making and ation and persuasion ibe to our free newsletter and start improving your life in just 5 minutes a 'll get our 5 free 'one minute life skills' and our weekly 'll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any ng and structuring effective also: how to conduct a attend meetings for a wide variety of reasons, including work, personal interests and leisure people will have to participate in meetings at some point in their lives, and many people do so on a regular gs can take place at work, within an organisation, a sports group, a parent teachers association, church group or one of a myriad of other page examines how meetings are structured in a formal situation. It explores how good preparation and an effective chairperson may contribute to the success of a meeting, giving a sense of direction or meetings leave the participants feeling they have wasted their time as little has been achieved and this can be due to many reasons. This page looks at the reasons why meetings may be less successful and provides help and advice to enable you to get the most out of the meetings you're involved the purposes of this page, a meeting is the coming together of three or more people who share common aims and objectives, and who through the use of verbal and written communication contribute to the objectives being purpose of gs are an important organisational tool as they can be used to:Pool and develop and develop age enthusiasm and e a sense of a common meetings may differ in size, content and approach, effective meetings all have the following three elements in common:A distinctive purpose or of effective communication.
Meeting can be divided into the following three main components:Content is the knowledge, information, experience, expertise, opinions, ideas, attitudes and expectations that each individual brings to a ction is the way in which the participants work together to deal with the content of a meeting. This includes the feelings, attitudes and expectations of the participants which have a direct bearing on co-operation, listening, participation and ure is the way in which both the information and the participants are organised to achieve the purpose/objectives of the are many different types of meetings; here we focus on those used to:These are the most straightforward meetings where one member, usually the chairperson, has factual information or a decision which affects all those present, which he/she wishes to communicate. Such meetings tend to be formal as their aims are to give the members a real understanding and to discuss any implications or how to put such information to best are meetings used to discuss a specific policy or innovation and can be used to get participants' views of such a policy or idea. An example could be:Review a current its the advantages of such m solving meetings are dependent upon the chairperson describing the problem as clearly as possible. Making types of meetings tend to follow an established method of procedure:Description of the is of the problem. Organisations, clubs and societies hold regular meetings to enable members to report and discuss progress and work in hand, to deliberate current and future planning. Such meetings can contain elements of each of the four above ng and preparation for a prime importance for the success of any meeting is the attitude and leadership of the chairperson. In a meeting, the chairperson is the leader and, as such, has to perform the same function as the leader of any working a meeting to be effective, the chairperson has to:Plan, organise and control the discussion of subjects on the in the group by encouraging and developing harmonious te the individuals by encouraging all to contribute, rewarding their efforts and supporting them in any any meeting, the chairperson should ask and resolve the following questions:What is the purpose of the meeting? Meetings must have a purpose or aim and the chairperson must ask questions, questions as:What is to be achieved by this meeting? Chairperson should always consider whether a meeting is necessary or if some other means of communication is more appropriate,for example memos or emails targeted to individuals inviting comment. Unnecessary meetings may waste time, lead to frustration and negativity and may lower motivation to participate in future should the meeting be planned?
There should be some rationale behind every meeting, no matter how low-level or informal, and this will largely dictate the content and indicate how planning should will attend the meeting? In a small organisation, a meeting could well include all members of staff, whereas a working party or committee meeting will already have its members pre-determined. Meetings outside the workplace may include members of the board of directors or other interested preparations are needed for the meeting? Maximum contribution is to be forthcoming from all participants, the purpose of the meeting should be recognised by all. The most tangible expression of this is the agenda which should be circulated beforehand to all those invited to the meeting. The agenda should:Give the time and place of the the topics to be covered, indicating who will introduce any relevant papers the time the meeting will agenda: this is the outline plan for the meeting. In most formal meetings it is drawn up by the secretary in consultation with the chairperson. The secretary must circulate the agenda well in advance of the meeting, including any accompanying papers. The secretary also requests items for inclusion in the r meetings often start with the minutes from the last meeting followed by 'matters arising' which forms a link with what has happened in the previous meeting. Most meetings conclude with 'any other business' (aob) which gives everyone the opportunity for any genuine last minute items to be raised; though more formal meetings may have aob items listed on the example of an agenda might be:Apologies for s of last s arising (from minutes of last meeting). You can find out more on our page: agenda to conduct a role of the secretary | mindful -taking | effective team-working to delegate | building to get a meeting with cing the art of communication for small @skillsyouneed.