To stick or not to stick to: That is the agenda
Anyone else noticed a spike in the time they spend in meetings, during these times? (raises hands). Videoconferencing or physical, face-to-face meetings – the most important ground rule that should’ve been published in stone when the head caveman congregated with fellow cavemen about their survival strategies is this – every meeting and meeting invite must be preceded by a meeting agenda. Cut to a few centuries later, we’ve decided to do the needful.
What is the big deal about a meeting agenda anyway?
The big deal, summed up in one word – CONTEXT. Sending a meeting invite sans an agenda to your team is a recipe for disaster.
- The anxious ones are going to be worried that something bad is about to happen.
- The cynical ones are rolling their eyes because they are yet to be proven wrong that meetings minus agendas actually work
- The optimistic ones are being harassed by the anxious ones to reveal any interpretation of the meeting that has no agenda.
- The over-enthusiastic ones are prepping for the meeting with their lengthy versions of whatever they want to discuss. (Good luck with trying to moderate that bit.)
It’s going to be an unattainable feat to make this meeting as productive as intended
Promise yourself one thing – hereon, till the time you continue to work, you will make it your professional life’s responsibility that NO ONE utters the above words with reference to your meeting invite.
Why?
- Meetings with agendas help participants prepare for it. They know what to expect.
- You, the meeting host, can control how the meeting steers course, from start to finish
- You are able to discuss exactly what needs to be discussed – nothing more and nothing less
- You will be known as the person whose meetings actually helps bring everyone together on the same page
How to create a meeting agenda?
Treat a meeting like a trip to the grocery store, where the grocery list is the meeting agenda. You prepare a certain list of things to be acquired – any gallivanting you do will have you spending time walking unnecessarily through aisles. Time is money when you’re in an office space. Everyone, including you, has deliverables to return to, and you don’t want to be coming in the way.
- Prepare a realistic agenda, with time slots allocated to each item on the list.
- Send the list to your participants before the meeting invite is sent – this gives you and your team room to prepare for the meeting
- VERY IMPORTANT: Arrive, get your coffee and set up before the meeting begins. This is particularly paramount if you’re joining a video call. There are plenty of technical glitches you will face and you must resolve them before you begin the meeting (unless of course, you’re having the VC at Converge. You needn’t worry then; we have the best-in-class audio-video conferencing facilities).
- During the meeting, write this list out on a whiteboard, so it’s in sight all the time. On a VC, you can request everyone to keep the agenda window open on their respective screens during the course of the meeting
- Get everyone’s buy-in that the meeting agenda will be followed
- Time your slots – if you’re presenting something, which you most likely are, switch on the timer on your laptop so you’re always in view of the time you’re spending while discussing a particular topic
- Choose a moderator—a participant in the meeting—who does a time-check and serves as a reminder during opportune moments (especially if someone has ventured into a point-of-no-return zone) that ‘x’ amount of time has been allotted to the task
- Redirect off-topic conversation to a ‘later time’ where the related discussion can be continued
- Conclude the meeting with a verbal minutes-of-the-meeting, followed by one sent over email
We can ramble on, but like meeting agendas, we believe in sticking to the point at every chance we get! Hope you have a productive meeting!
Speaking of productive meetings – have you checked out Converge yet?
