如何制作一个有效的会议议程

How to Craft an Effective Meeting Agenda Meetings can consume vast amounts of time in a busy work schedule, so running them on time and making sure that they cover all the topics necessary is a critical task. Research suggests that a the average manager will spend about 20 percent of his or her time each week stuck in time consuming tasks such as meetings. That is one full work day each week, stuck in mostly meetings. Building effective agendas can help ensure that the time is not wasted.

Things You'll Need

∙List of tasks for meeting

∙Clock or watch

∙Place for the meeting

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Instructions

1

Define the purpose of the meeting. Is this a weekly meeting or a

project meeting? These are some key questions that should be

addressed in the agenda at the outset of the meeting. An agenda

should be developed around the key purpose of the meeting. If it is

a weekly office meeting, then several to-do's, announcements, and

weekly business topics will be addressed. Weekly meetings are

generally less formal, and the agenda can be more of a loose, open

format. However, project meetings should have a more structured

focus, with set times for each agenda item; a clear indication of who

will present each segment; and key points for discussion.

2

Be clear about the date and location of the meeting. Set the date

well enough in advance to ensure that participants are able to

schedule the meeting and plan accordingly. You also want to advise

presenters well in advance in order to prepare a presentation. Once

you set the date, stick to it.

o3

What is the planned start and end time for the meeting? Set a start

time and end time, and stick to it. Keep a watch close by, and

monitor the flow of the meeting. Some 30-minute meetings can

accomplish hours of work. Some four-hour sessions may

accomplish nothing. Remember that participants have

responsibilities outside of the meeting, so if you plan a time to end,

stick to it.

o4

What are your agenda items for this meeting? Determine your

agenda items well in advance. Get input from presenters, colleges,

team members, and participants of the meetings. Agendas are

often first started by looking at the notes from the previous meetings.

Plan a list of items to be covered, and look to eliminate items that

can be addressed outside the meeting or have little relevance to the

entire group. Also, if your meeting will have some discussion or

"brainstorming," plan this in your agenda. Brainstorming sessions

can be time consuming, and you don't want to skip critical items

because a discussion session ran too long.

o5

Determine how much time will be allocated to each agenda item.

This is another critical point. If a meeting is scheduled to last one

hour, it should conclude in one hour. Agenda items should be

assigned a time limit, and these limits should be enforced. At times,

it may be necessary to extend pre-determined time limits. However,

this should be the exception rather than the rule. Again, you will be

surprised by how much can be compressed into a few minutes

when a time limit is imposed.

o6

Who will be assigned as the leader (or presenter) for each agenda

item? Assign the agenda items to team members for presentation.

This will help individuals take ownership, and become more