You can plan an effective meeting if you answer these three questions.
They are:
1) What?
This question expands into: What is the vision for the project? What result do you want from the meeting? What do you want to change, fix, or resolve? What do you want people to do after the meeting?
All of this is summed up in a statement of the goal for the meeting.
2) Why?
This question asks: What is the purpose of the meeting? What is the benefit of having the result? Why should anyone care about this meeting?
All of this is summed up in a statement of the purpose (or outcome) for the meeting.
3 How?
This question asks for the steps that will be taken to accomplish the goal. Ideally, this includes a time budget, descriptions of the process, and the names of the people responsible for key roles in each step.
All of this is summed up in the agenda.
Once you have these three answers, review them to make sure that they represent the result that you want from the meeting. Then send copies of them (i.e., the compete agenda) to the attendees at least a day before the meeting.
Key Point: A meeting is a business project and should be planned like one.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
Steve Kaye
Professional Speaker and Photographer
- - -
See: Steve’s Web Site
(Dozens of articles, more than 600 photos, and 165 blog posts)