Meetings are the vehicle to build your group. They help you recruit, train, and sustain a membership base. If you get the meetings right, your group will function well and achieve long term success. Running a good meeting is simple. But most meetings are not well run. Ineffective meetings use critical resources, sap organizational energy and movement, and affect employee morale. Find out how to make your meetings work for you. If you run good meetings, your group will be successful.

A key to a good meeting is a workable agenda. Without an agenda, the discussion is likely to be unfocused and prevent progress. It is difficult to make decisions if your group's "train of thought" is interrupted. You may also run out of time, leaving individuals making decisions that ought to be made by the group. An agenda should be created by several people, and it is best if planning occurs near the end of the previous meeting, when your group is thinking about its future needs. What distinguishes an effective meeting from one that is a complete waste of time? Here are factors that help ensure a good meeting:

How to build your Agenda:

1. Establish a meeting objective and circulate agenda prior to meetings.

2. Allow people time to prepare. Bring copies of the agenda to the meeting for those who do not bring their copy.

3. Ensure preparation guidelines are clear.

4. Invite guests to attend meetings only at times needed.

5. Only key people necessary to meet the objective should attend the meeting.

During meeting focus on:

1. Start meetings on time. Do not wait for latecomers to begin. Close the door.

2. Eliminate interruptions.

3. Summarize at end of meeting:
what was accomplished
who is responsible for follow-up
next steps to be taken and by when

4. Finish on time.