Planning a meeting? 12 Steps to Successfully Plan A Meeting

Planning a meeting can be stressful. The more complex the goal the greater the anxiety of what to do first and how to do it. There are ten factors that you must include to plan the perfect meeting regardless of what it is for. Implement them and succeed. I have also included at the bottom of this article the ten most frequently asked questions about planning a meeting.

Twelve steps to planning a meeting Successfully

1. What is the meeting’s purpose?

The first and most important factor to consider is the purpose of the meeting. Is it for a project, a goal, a function, an event, or an initiative? Have a clear understanding of what the meeting purpose is as this will help you with the other 9 factors on this list. You may also have a planning meeting for planning.

This may be the case when you don’t know who will be involved or needed, and what is needed. I have answered this last point in the FAQ’s along with other frequently asked questions.

2. Meeting Resources

All meetings require resources which we take for granted most of the time. Below are the common resources that you must consider:

• Venue
  Is the venue the right size for your event? The number of participants and activities in your event will determine the size required.

• Table & Chairs
  The activities the participants will engage in your event determine whether you need a large table so that everyone can face each other, or many small tables in a configuration that is best for the meeting. You may want to arrange several rows of small tables for a training meeting or place several tables in a ‘U’ shape if the meeting is going to be interactive between participants and the facilitator. Make sure you consider configuration in your planning. Ensuring that you have the right table or tables with chairs is important. Your meeting may not need tables if it is a company announcement, presentation, or celebration. This impacts the number of people that you can place in an area.

• Lectern Stand
  Your meeting may be an announcement or company presentation and a lectern may be required. Consider who will be presenting at the lectern when using it, as a stepping stool may be needed for shorter presenters.

• Electronics support
  You must consider your electronic needs at your meeting. These include the number of electrical plugs needed. Your meeting may have people using their laptops, or a projector for presentations. You may also need a sound system if it is being held in a large room with a large audience. Lighting requirements are also necessary to take into consideration and some meetings require different lighting.

• Area required
  Think about the area that you will need for your meeting participants and the activities they are required to do. Some meetings require a discussion or presentation to be done with a team-building exercise that needs the participants to engage in a physical activity requiring an open area.

• Food & beverages
  Consider the length of your meeting. You may want to think about supplying beverages and food if the meeting is a full day. It’s good practice to provide beverages if the meeting is more than two hours and food if it includes lunch times. For meetings that are approximately 3-4 hours, you may consider a light snack of cookies, fruit or something of that nature with beverages for your participants. It is good practice to ask invitees to your meeting if they have food restrictions due to allergies or religious beliefs when sending out your meeting invitations. This way you can adjust the food or beverages if required.

• Participant requirements
  The meeting purpose and goals will determine what you ask participants to bring to the meeting. You may want people to dress appropriately to enable them to participate in a physical activity. They may need to bring with them materials such as documents, research, or information to your meeting. Do they need their laptops to be brought to your meeting? These and any other participant requirements that are specific to your meeting should be mentioned when you send your meeting invitations.

3. Meeting participants

Consider the meeting participants invited to attend your meeting based on your meeting purpose mentioned above. You will want to have participation from personnel that directly impact the meeting purpose including vendors, suppliers, people that are in the process and personnel that can influence the meeting purpose. If your meeting is to improve the process of something being done, then it is a good idea to have a representation of the entire process to obtain the best solution possible.

In this example, you will want representation from each level of the process, from the technical to the administrative. Having everyone connected with the meeting purpose represented at your meeting will provide you with a robust solution that you wouldn’t otherwise have.

4. Date & Time

It is important for you to choose an appropriate date and time based on the urgency, importance, and your participants’ schedules. If something is urgent and important then it should be done as soon as possible, and you may need to let your meeting invitees adjust their schedule to accommodate your meeting. If your meeting is important but not urgent then consider everyone’s schedule and arrange the meeting accordingly.

5. Venue & length of the meeting

There are three considerations to keep in mind when choosing the right venue for your meeting. They are as follows:

• Venue availability

Create a shortlist of possible venues and locations for your meeting and choose the one that best fits your meeting given the following two factors.

• Area required

Calculate the minimum area that you need given the number of participants in your meeting. This is an important part of the criteria in choosing the right venue for it.

• Resources availability

List the resources that you need and ensure that the venue can accommodate your requirements. You will need to arrange for your electronic, lighting, or sound system to be available at the meeting should the venue not have them.

Lastly, ensure that there is plenty of time to have the discussions, presentations, or activities so that you don’t run out of time. Calculate the amount of time needed for your meeting and send it in your invitation.

6. Objectives of the meeting

List your objectives for the meeting. Your objectives are in the form of topics to be discussed, activities,, or presentations to be done. Your objectives will depend on your meeting purpose. Write your objectives in point form and send them to invitees as part of your meeting agenda. Meetings such as company announcements, HR onboarding, training sessions and the like do not require you to send an agenda ahead of the meeting.

7. Desired Outcomes

Your desired outcomes are the goals of the meeting. You may have one or more outcomes that you want from the meeting. List them and use them to guide the conversations and activities towards them. You may also include the desired outcomes in your agenda to provide information to your attendees.

8. Create a meeting agenda

Although a meeting agenda is not necessary to send ahead of time for all types of meetings. They are a necessary component and best practice if it is a problem-solving meeting, a project, or a company initiative. An agenda includes the date, time, length of meeting, meeting purpose, objectives, desired outcomes, and invitees.

9. Participant Roles

There are three roles that you should assign for your meeting. They have the role of facilitator, timekeeper, and minutes taker. You may decide to be all three if it is a small group meeting and you don’t have any planned activities that will take you away from recording the meeting. Otherwise, you will need to assign one or more of these roles to various attendees.

10. Meeting Ground Rules

Your meeting ground rules will have an impact on how productive your meeting will be. People talking over each other, interrupting someone before they finish their thoughts, or disrespectful behavior will negatively impact the productivity of your meeting. Ground rules on personal cellphones, proper behaviors, staying on topic and respecting one another’s viewpoints are important to gain the most out of your attendees.

11. Team Building Activities (Icebreakers)

Icebreaker activities are good to have if your attendees are not very familiar with each other. These types of activities are in the form of physical activities, conversational activities, and a combination of both. One of my favorites is two truths and a lie.

Have everyone in the group take turns saying two truths and one lie to the group, and the group is asked to guess which is the lie. These types of exercises break down the barriers that otherwise keep them from working together and getting the most out of them.

12. Meeting Minutes

Keep meeting minutes if your meeting outcomes are to produce agreements, action items, or progress on company initiatives. Meeting minutes are a written record of the meeting and what transpired in it. The meeting minutes details include the basics of date, time, meeting length, meeting location, participants, and invitee absences. The meeting details such as topics discussed, outcomes from the discussions in the form of action items, as well as the responsible person or group that is to complete the action items.

The best practice is to also have a date with each action item. Your meeting minutes will be sent after the meeting to all participants. Also to those directly connected to the purpose of the meeting that may have not attended the meeting. Plan to have a meeting journal available for your meeting to make it easier to take proper meeting minutes.

Why Trust My Advice?

My experience as a business consultant for more than 3 decades has given me a wealth of knowledge in this area. Most companies do not conduct training on how to get the most out of business meetings and as a result, people feel that they are largely a waste of time. However, my experience has taught me that often this is where a company can truly catapult themselves ahead of their competition.

After all, getting the most out of your company staff to increase your success in the marketplace is what it’s all about. My advice here on planning a meeting will provide you with the requirements to have a successful meeting.

Insider Tip for Planning A Meeting

Meeting minutes are a necessary but difficult component of a meeting that meeting participants face often. There are many meeting journals in the market today that you can choose from. My recommendation is the Konnect Meeting Minutes Journal. It has unique features that make it easy to use and that are not available in other meeting journals. These include an easy-to-use index with cross-referencing of meetings and action items.

Your action items can also be placed separately in a centralized location in the journal. This minimizes you flipping pages to locate the action items belonging to a specific meeting. The minute’s pages are well laid out for easy use. Fill in the blank spaces available for the required information. It is a well-designed meeting journal that deserves your consideration.

Conclusion

Planning a meeting isn’t stressful when you implement and consider the twelve elements in this article. Follow them like a checklist and you will have a professional and successful meeting.