User:Heshamaj/Effective Meeting

The process used in a meeting depends on the kind of meeting that is to be conducted, e.g., staff meeting, planning meeting, problem solving meeting, etc. However, there are certain steps that are common to various types of meetings. These are described below.

Ensuring meeting is required
Avoid a meeting if the same information could be conveyed in a memo, e-mail or a brief report. One of the keys to having more effective meetings is differentiating between the need for one-way information dissemination and two-way information sharing.

Planning
Effective meetings that produce results, begin with meeting planning. First, identify whether other employees are needed for help in planning the meeting. Then, decide what is to be accomplished by holding the meeting. The meeting purpose will determine the meeting focus, the meeting agenda, and the meeting participants.

Setting meeting objectives
Specific objectives for a meeting helps in having a concrete measure against which the meeting can be evaluated.

Ensuring appropriate participation
The decision about who is to attend depends on what is to be accomplished in the meeting. A meeting should be postponed rather than being held without critical staff members.

Providing agenda beforehand
The agenda needs to include a brief description of the objectives to be met. It should contain the major topics to be discussed, the type of output expected, and time estimates for addressing each topic.

Opening the meeting
The meeting should be started on time. This should be followed by a review of the agenda and clarification of each individual’s role in the meeting.

Assigning action items
No discussion in the meeting should be finished without deciding on how to act on it. Key comments that flag potential action items should be carefully observed.

Evaluation of meeting
The last few minutes of every meeting should be evaluated with questions such as: ''What worked well in this meeting? What can be done to improve the next meeting?'' The actions and assignments decided during the meeting should be reviewed. The meeting minutes should be reported back to participants in at most a week.