This article series builds on a recent post at Productivity in Context - Getting the Most Out of a Meeting.
Meetings do not happen by accident
Whether you are planning a regularly scheduled staff meeting, a faculty retreat, a product launch planning session, or even a sales conference, every meeting requires careful advance preparation. An effective meeting has an intentional outcome that leaves the participants satisfied with the process that led to that outcome. This series of posts will teach you the basic steps needed to plan and execute a successful meeting.
The basic components of a successful meeting
Three things are needed, at the very least, for a successful meeting - a facilitator, a group of attendees, and a reason to gather.
In order to have a successful meeting, it is important for the facilitator to consider the following list of components:
- A meeting needs to have an objective that defines the purpose of the meeting.
- Each participant should understand or have an expectation of what will occur by the end of the meeting.
- A meeting should provide some benefit for the investment of time to attend.
- The facilitator needs to create a list of attendees.
- The physical space for the meeting should be appropriate to the format and facilitate two-way participation.
- A clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of the participants.
- An agenda and prepared materials.
- Define the content of the meeting, and the process to deliver it.
- Proper presentation skills to inform, influence, or motivate the attendees.
- An atmosphere of trust and security.
- Win-win approaches to decision-making.
- Access to a time-keeper to keep the agenda on track.
- A method to track and assign Next Actions.
- A method to follow-up on these assignments and communicate progress reports.
The attendees also need to have a basic understanding of what it is that they are expected to bring to the meeting in terms of information or equipment.
Putting it all together
The reason for having a meeting needs to be compelling. The participants must be able to see that their investment in time to attend the meeting will have a return that exceeds the opportunity cost of attending.
The next post in this series will address the content of the meeting and how to construct it.
