Effective meetings aren’t just an act of luck. They take time, effort, and lots of planning to ensure everyone feels that they’ve gained something from the experience. They require time, energy, and lots of planning to ensure that everyone comes away feeling they’ve gained something useful from the event.

Meeting preparation starts with understanding what the meeting’s purpose is. What are the expectations of the group to accomplish at the conclusion of this session? This is often referred to as the “Why” of the meeting. It is what drives your decision making as well as the discussion topics and the results. It’s essential to set an objective and stick to it so participants remain focused throughout the meeting.

Asking questions to clarify the situation prior to the meeting’s start is an excellent idea. Ask questions to your team members so they can prepare. The delay in waiting until the meeting to ask questions wastes the time during the session which could be used for other tasks.

An agenda for meetings is read here a key part of preparing. It is crucial to ensure that it is easy to access, a collaborative process and accessible to everyone. The agenda helps organize the meeting and ensures it remains on the right track.

It’s a good idea to assign someone as the note-keeper and timekeeper so that they can ensure the meeting starts and ends on time and that all agenda items are discussed in a proper order. It’s also helpful to designate the person to make notes available after the meeting, to ensure that all important details are captured and distributed.