STUDENTS OF 1ST YEAR Why an agenda is important An agenda is much more than a list of things to do. An agenda is a meeting program designed to enable all important and relevant points to be dealt with in good order and good time. An agenda is also a form of courtesy. It informs the chairperson and participants of the refined purpose of the meeting. This gives them time to prepare for the tasks, and enables them to make a meaningful contribution. A well planned agenda can: provide a logical guide for business and discussion bring harmony and efficiency to a meeting help restrain participants from speaking out of turn. Writing Your Own Agenda 1 Start preparation well in advance. It will show if you rush the agenda - youre likely to forget things or to put things in the wrong order. Start preparation well in advance 2 If you are having special guests attending the meeting, find out whether they have any issues that can be combined because they are related, similar, or even the same in terms of means or ends. If so, arrange them under one agenda item. Organize the order events according to time and importance. If something really needs to be discussed urgently or as a matter of priority, you may wish to put it near the top of the agenda so you can be certain you will get to it in the course of the meeting. Some people like to put things that take a lot of time near the top of the agenda, so that they can be certain they will be able to talk at length about them. Others prefer to put such items near the bottom as it means that discussion on these topics wont push other items off the agenda and discussion that does occur will be forced to be succinct; its your call dependent on the topic. It may take a little trial and error to decide on an organization style you like. Date/Time: January 15, 2013 11 am to 1:30 pm Location: Conference Room B Attendees: Joe Smith, John Doe, Sally Mill, Jane Green, Sam Jones, Mike Smith, Donna White order events according to time and importance 3 Check the agenda for errors. Doing so reflects on your attention to detail and care for your position. It also prevents people being distracted by minor errors or by making points of order about errors. Check the agenda for errors 4 Print the agenda or email it to all attendees. You should do this as near to the actual meeting as possible. If emailing, only do so if this has been agreed to by prior arrangement and always have spare paper copies up your sleeve at the meeting. Someone always forgets to bring a printed copy! Print the agenda or email it to all attendees EditTips If your company has a special form for agendas, use this form as a template. For some places, it is essential to stick to the formula. If somebody cannot make the meeting, consider creating an Advance Apologies section at the top of the agenda, or leave a space for this and simply announce them during the meeting. An excellent tool for having a productive meeting is using OARR: Objectives, Agenda, Roles & Responsibilities. First, your meeting should have an objective. If you are having a meeting to just impart information, dont waste peoples time with a meeting. Send them a newsletter. The objective should have an active component and if possible, a product to show for it: Determine the quarterly goals for the team. The agenda is a list of the topics youll address to get to that objective, with a time limit to keep you on track. For example 1. Review the status of last quarters goals (15 minutes), 2. Round-table suggestions for goals (20 minutes), 3. Pick top 5 goals (10 minutes), etc.) For Roles and Responsibilities, determine who is running the meeting, who is keeping notes, and who will assign actions/to do items resulting from the meeting. Depending what your colleagues prefer, it might be worth keeping to a deadline for people suggesting ideas to add to the agenda. Name a cut-off date and time, and stick to it. Allow for amendments where these enhance the agenda or are simply a case of events overriding your original agenda. SAMPLE AGENDA Sample Agenda An agenda does not have to be complicated. It shoul d simply reflect what the group wish to cover in the meeting. The agenda below is an example of how an agenda cou ld be set out and what it could contain. It is completely fictional and is not link ed to any ‘friends of’ group. An agenda for an AGM would be slightly different be cause it would have to include a financial report for the year and election of the c ommittee, it could also include guest speakers and a progress report from the committee. AGENDA FRIENDS OF CUTTESLOWE PARK MEETING 20TH OCTOBER 2006, 6.30PM HELD AT CROWCROFT PARK BOWLING PAVILION 1. Welcome, introductions and apologies. 2. Progress since last meeting 3. Consultation 4. Funding applied for 5. A.O.B. (any other business) 6. Date and time of next meeting 7. Close
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 08:35:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015