Effective meetings depend on preparation, structure, and follow up

Preparation - before the meeting

1. Define the goal - is it to make a decision, share information, produce new ideas?
2. Design agenda - what steps need to happen to achieve the goal of the meeting, who should be responsible for each step and how long should each step last?
3. Assign the meeting facilitator and optionally a notetaker and timekeeper
4. Decide on who to invite - who are the key decision makers, required experts, and stakeholders?
5. Share documents and ask to submit their documents beforehand - no need for anyone to provide an oral status update or read documents together, when these things can be done before the meeting

Structure - during the meeting

1. Set up rule of the meeting - you may ask to put down their laptops and phones or specify how the decision will be made
2. Provide conclusion of each step of the agenda
3. Make the engagement a top priority - make all people speak if necessary interrupt and involve people that are silent; ask questions such ask “Are we missing something?”, “Is anyone thinking differently?”
4. At the end repeat the key topics mentioned, key decisions, next steps, task assignments, and check if everything is clear
5. Thank everyone for their involvement

Follow up - after the meeting

1. Send an email with the conclusions, key decisions, next steps, and task assignments to all participants and people that should know the outcome of the meeting
2. Reach out to that person to discuss their worries, if you feel that someone is not happy with the meeting’s outcome