How to Prepare for a Meeting
Confirm the meeting’s time, place, and duration with a manager., Prepare an agenda for the meeting., Gather minutes from previous meetings., Distribute all documents., Gather the necessary equipment., Assemble the room.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Confirm the meeting’s time
Before distributing information about the meeting to all relevant personnel, you should make sure all of the logistical details you have are correct.
Failing to do so can mean that you’ll have to publicize corrections later, something which makes both you and your office look disorganized and unprofessional.
You might want to work up a draft of the meeting announcement memo or email and show this to your manager.
This way the manager can review not only the logistical information within, but also the format and wording.
Also be sure to confirm who should receive the announcement.
You might already know who will be attending, but your manager might want other, non-attending workers or clients to know about the meeting as well. -
Step 2: and duration with a manager.
The agenda is an important document for any meeting, as it notifies attendees of the objectives and purview of the gathering, as well as keeping the meeting itself focused, efficient, and on track.
In order to draft an agenda, have your manager provide you with a short list of objectives and planned topics for the meeting.
From this list, you can create an agenda which you’ll send out along with the notification of the meeting’s time, date, and place.
A good agenda should include topics to be addressed and their purposes, as well as speakers or members of personnel responsible for presenting on each topic.
All topics and presentations should be placed in a logical sequence, as well as segmented according to the time your manager wants to spend on each step.If you’ve never crafted an agenda before, or if you’re still feeling unsure about your chosen format, check templates provided by word processing programs such as Microsoft Word and OpenOffice. , In addition to a short notification of the upcoming meeting and an agenda, you should attach any minutes from previous meetings which are relevant to the topics planned.
If your company or group doesn’t take minutes, double check with your manager to find out if there is any additional data or background information they would like sent out with the notification.
If it’s not company or group policy to take minutes—perhaps there’s no one available to take the minutes, for example—consider changing this policy for the future, or at least having the meeting audio recorded for the future.
This documentation will help personnel refer back to ideas and agreements discussed, as well as catch up on what happened at the meeting If they were unable to attend., At least a week before the meeting in question is scheduled, send out the necessary documents to all attendees and other relevant personnel.
Do this according to company protocol: for more formal meetings or larger companies, you might need to send out hard copies, whereas smaller companies or more informal, team meetings can often be arranged via email.
Some software and email platforms such as Outlook can help facilitate meeting scheduling, so check out these options if you’re looking for a way to streamline and modernize your office’s meeting calendar.This time frame accords with general office etiquette, but you should be aware that some organizations and professional protocols stipulate specific deadlines and terms.
For example, some countries and states require meeting notices for Housing Association board meetings to be mailed at least a month before the scheduled meeting., Many meetings will require little more equipment and materials than a table, chairs, and some loose paper and pens for note-taking.
Some meetings—especially those at larger companies or which include data- and multimedia-heavy presentations—will need special equipment, such as projectors, screens, laser pointers, microphones, cable hook-ups, or audio speakers.You should collect and assemble all of these materials well before the meeting in order to make sure everything functions and is ready on time.
If one or more employees or team members is planning on presenting at the meeting, contact them ahead of time to ask if they need any specific technology or devices for their presentation. , In addition to setting up all of the necessary equipment for the meeting ahead of time, you should also make sure the room is well-appointed for everyone’s comfort and attention.
For example, make sure there are enough chairs in the room, that water bottles are stocked and visible, and that the temperature and air circulation in the room are acceptable.
Such considerations may seem like details, but studies have shown that little things like room temperature can make a big impact on peoples' moods and attentiveness.Depending on your company’s usual protocol, you might also want to provide some kind of snack or hot beverage for attendees.
Always verify with your manager ahead of time to make sure you’re supplying everything they’d like. -
Step 3: Prepare an agenda for the meeting.
-
Step 4: Gather minutes from previous meetings.
-
Step 5: Distribute all documents.
-
Step 6: Gather the necessary equipment.
-
Step 7: Assemble the room.
Detailed Guide
Before distributing information about the meeting to all relevant personnel, you should make sure all of the logistical details you have are correct.
Failing to do so can mean that you’ll have to publicize corrections later, something which makes both you and your office look disorganized and unprofessional.
You might want to work up a draft of the meeting announcement memo or email and show this to your manager.
This way the manager can review not only the logistical information within, but also the format and wording.
Also be sure to confirm who should receive the announcement.
You might already know who will be attending, but your manager might want other, non-attending workers or clients to know about the meeting as well.
The agenda is an important document for any meeting, as it notifies attendees of the objectives and purview of the gathering, as well as keeping the meeting itself focused, efficient, and on track.
In order to draft an agenda, have your manager provide you with a short list of objectives and planned topics for the meeting.
From this list, you can create an agenda which you’ll send out along with the notification of the meeting’s time, date, and place.
A good agenda should include topics to be addressed and their purposes, as well as speakers or members of personnel responsible for presenting on each topic.
All topics and presentations should be placed in a logical sequence, as well as segmented according to the time your manager wants to spend on each step.If you’ve never crafted an agenda before, or if you’re still feeling unsure about your chosen format, check templates provided by word processing programs such as Microsoft Word and OpenOffice. , In addition to a short notification of the upcoming meeting and an agenda, you should attach any minutes from previous meetings which are relevant to the topics planned.
If your company or group doesn’t take minutes, double check with your manager to find out if there is any additional data or background information they would like sent out with the notification.
If it’s not company or group policy to take minutes—perhaps there’s no one available to take the minutes, for example—consider changing this policy for the future, or at least having the meeting audio recorded for the future.
This documentation will help personnel refer back to ideas and agreements discussed, as well as catch up on what happened at the meeting If they were unable to attend., At least a week before the meeting in question is scheduled, send out the necessary documents to all attendees and other relevant personnel.
Do this according to company protocol: for more formal meetings or larger companies, you might need to send out hard copies, whereas smaller companies or more informal, team meetings can often be arranged via email.
Some software and email platforms such as Outlook can help facilitate meeting scheduling, so check out these options if you’re looking for a way to streamline and modernize your office’s meeting calendar.This time frame accords with general office etiquette, but you should be aware that some organizations and professional protocols stipulate specific deadlines and terms.
For example, some countries and states require meeting notices for Housing Association board meetings to be mailed at least a month before the scheduled meeting., Many meetings will require little more equipment and materials than a table, chairs, and some loose paper and pens for note-taking.
Some meetings—especially those at larger companies or which include data- and multimedia-heavy presentations—will need special equipment, such as projectors, screens, laser pointers, microphones, cable hook-ups, or audio speakers.You should collect and assemble all of these materials well before the meeting in order to make sure everything functions and is ready on time.
If one or more employees or team members is planning on presenting at the meeting, contact them ahead of time to ask if they need any specific technology or devices for their presentation. , In addition to setting up all of the necessary equipment for the meeting ahead of time, you should also make sure the room is well-appointed for everyone’s comfort and attention.
For example, make sure there are enough chairs in the room, that water bottles are stocked and visible, and that the temperature and air circulation in the room are acceptable.
Such considerations may seem like details, but studies have shown that little things like room temperature can make a big impact on peoples' moods and attentiveness.Depending on your company’s usual protocol, you might also want to provide some kind of snack or hot beverage for attendees.
Always verify with your manager ahead of time to make sure you’re supplying everything they’d like.
About the Author
David Mitchell
Committed to making creative arts accessible and understandable for everyone.
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