Good agenda guarantees a good meeting—as long as people stick to that agenda.

Meeting participants should have advance information so they can start to look at the problem even before the meeting begins. They need background information that explains the problem and the exact nature of the damage it is doing.

The participants should also know why they are there; what their role is to be in the process, how decisions will be made, and what sort of timetable they are looking at. Each should be told this personally, and then again, later, in writing. If they do not know all of this before the meeting starts, then all the meeting does is tell them that they have to start dealing with a problem they are probably ill-prepared to deal with.

Why Have Meetings?

When people are invited to a meeting, their first response is quite often:

“Why do we have to have another meeting? For that matter, why do we have to have meetings at all?”

            Let’s look at why we have meetings so that you can answer that question the next time someone asks. Groups:

• provide an opportunity for the creation and development of more ideas related to a specific problem or situation;
• promote a greater understanding of the topics under discussion;
• create an environment where information and ideas may be exchanged;
• provide an opportunity to bring diverse opinions and views to a problem;
• allow for greater understanding of other people’s ideas;
• provide an opportunity for people to participate in and get more involved in the decision that affects them;
• increase the probability of having a decision accepted;
• give people an opportunity to expand their perspectives;
• let information be exchanged between many people simultaneously;
• help build cohesiveness and identity within an organization,
• may even lead to better decisions.

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3. Setting the Agenda

            You can look at an agenda as either an outline of what you plan to talk about, or as a road map showing everyone where they are going and how they will get there. How people choose to look at an agenda, however, is not nearly as important as the fact that they have one to actually look at before the meeting and as far in advance of the meeting as practical and possible.

            Like a good outline and a good map, a good agenda is loaded with information, and should, when possible, include attachments that spell out the various topics to be discussed in greater detail, and also provide background material on them. It also, indirectly, tells the various attendees what they will need to bring to the meeting to do what the agenda calls upon them to do.

            Aside from the time and location of the meeting, and the list of expected attendees, the actual agenda sheet usually contains three types of information:

1.      Time: This includes how much time is to be spent on each item, and lets attendees know in advance what the key items are, the ones that require the most time. Saying when discussion will end is one way to prevent rambling and long-winded discussions and presentations.

2.      Topic and Subtopic: This lists everything that is to be discussed or dealt with, in the order it is to be discussed and dealt with.

3.      Personnel: Here we see who is going to deal with each of the items on the agenda and who will speak about them.

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4. Minutes

“The person of power without limits

is the person who writes the minutes.”    Anonymous

            We have all heard the old riddle: If a tree falls in the middle of the forest, and there’s no one there to hear it, does it make any noise?

            Here is the organizational version: If there’s a meeting, but there are no minutes of the meeting, did the meeting actually take place?

            Meeting minutes should be kept short, normally no more than one page, if possible. This means they have to be written by someone with an ability to condense detailed information and explain long, complex discussions as succinctly as possible. The person who will keep the minutes should know about the task in advance, to have time to go over the agenda and get familiar with all the topics to be covered.

            Different organizations, and different committees and groups within the same organization, often have different attitudes toward having one person be the “permanent” recorder, or minutes-keeper. There are valid arguments for both sides. The best advice we can give is simply do what works best for you. There is no one “right” answer. So much depends on what other duty or duties the recorder might have at a meeting.

            Different people also have different attitudes toward tape recording meetings, and using that tape as the basis for the minutes. As a rule, this takes more time, intimidates some people from speaking honestly, and leads to longer minutes.  Some people feel, however, that taping allows for a more accurate record of the meeting when a tape is used to help write the minutes.                        

            There are numerous ways to take and prepare the minutes of a meeting. The following tips can be applied to any organizational style, type of meeting, or topic:

1.      Be Prepared: Make sure you are seated where you can both see and hear everything that is going on. You might have to describe something. You should also have a copy of any handouts or other information distributed at the meeting. Even if this information does not get distributed with the formal minutes, they should be part of the meeting file.

2.      Be Logical: Present the minutes in a simple, logical, and consistent style. Follow a standard organizational approach. Make sure to include the time (starting and ending), date, and location, and the names of those who attended.

3.      Ask For Clarification: If you are not sure what someone said, or what it might have meant, or even exactly what conclusion was reached, ask for clarification.

4.      Be Specific: Write the conclusion that was reached and how the group reached it, including the rationale that was used to convince them. If there is any specific action called for, make sure to include that, along with the person whose responsibility it will be and the date by which the task is to be completed.

5.      Check It Out: Check everything with the chair of the meeting to make sure you both agree on what happened.

6.      Pass It On: Make sure that everyone at the meeting, and anyone else entitled to them, gets a copy of the minutes as quickly as possible. Then allow people to make any necessary corrections.

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