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Step 1
Determine that a meeting is necessary. Can the topic be better addressed through other types of communications, such as individual face-to-face discussions, email or a broad organizational announcement? You don't want to waste people's time.
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Step 2
If a meeting is called for, decide what kind of meeting is needed. For instance, is it to share information, solve problems, persuade others or explore a topic in more depth? It may be combinations of a few of these.
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Step 3
Create the Agenda. It will have three phases: 1) Setup, 2) Discussion and 3) Summary. Assign a time frame to each phase.
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Step 4
Start with the Setup. Write a brief description of the meeting purpose/goal, and the value of the topic to the participants. Note how long the meeting will last.
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Step 5
Next describe Phase 2: the Discussion process. This phase represents the bulk of the meeting time. The discussion activity depends on the type of meeting being held. For instance, if it's an information sharing meeting, identify who will present and how much time is allotted. If it's a problem-solving meeting you might write, 'open sharing of ideas and decision making'. If it's a meeting where people will be persuading each other you could write, 'examine different points of view'.
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Step 6
Describe the final Summary phase. You could write review key discussion points and agree on next-step actions'.
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Step 7
Send out the agenda giving participants sufficient time to prepare. Provide clear start and end times.
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Step 8
When you start the meeting, use the Agenda at to set expectations for how it will be conducted. The Setup phase sets the tone.
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Step 9
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