by Jacquelyn Lynn

Created on: August 19, 2008   Last Updated: June 13, 2009

Managing Meetings: Turn dull, boring, unproductive meetings into effective, enjoyable gatherings that produce results

Ever spent your whole day in meetings and felt like you didn't accomplish a thing? You're not alone. But meetings are essentialthey're critical to keeping our businesses, professional associations, churches, civic groups and other organizations running. They provide a means for participants to discuss and plan goals and objectives, keep up-to-date on events, encourage communication, and pull resources together for strong decision-making and action planning.

Though we live and work in a world that is becoming increasingly complex, the techniques for effective meetings are basic and haven't changed much over the yearsand it doesn't matter whether the meeting is face-to-face in a conference room or auditorium or held electronically through video or teleconferencing. If you think the meetings you attend or facilitate could be more interesting and productive, a refresher course in meeting fundamentals will help.

Before the meeting

Effective meetings begin long before the opening gavel drops. Here's what you need to do before the call to order is issued:

Define the purpose. If you cannot clearly and concisely articulate the reason for your meeting, don't have one. That it's your regular weekly or monthly meeting time is not sufficient cause to have a meetingwithout a purpose, cancel the meeting and spend your time on something productive.

Prepare an agenda. Keep the agenda to one page, listing the main topics that will be discussed during the meeting. Put the most important items first; otherwise, you'll encourage people to be late. If possible, ask participants for agenda items ahead of time to avoid surprises during the meeting. Distribute the agenda and any background material (such as reports, lengthy documents or articles) prior to the meeting so participants can prepare themselves ahead of time.

Choose an appropriate time. Schedule the meeting to allow all participants to comfortably attend. For example, you may think an employee staff meeting set for 7:00 a.m. before the workday begins is a good idea, but staffers with small children at home may disagree. For distance meetings, consider time zones. Remember that a 4:00 p.m. teleconference start for Californians is 7:00 p.m. for New Yorkers. In addition to the start time, set an end time and stick to it. Your participants have other commitments and obligations, and they need to know when the meeting

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