Effective Meeting Strategies

Effective Meeting Strategies The effectiveness of an organization’s meetings can determine how successful an organization will become. Effective meetings allow the officers and the members discuss issues, take on responsibilities, and to report back on the progress of projects. It is through meetings that everyone can stay informed of what is happening. To have a successful meeting, there needs to be a basic structure to it. A great meeting does not begin at the start time of the meeting but rather it begins during the preparatory work done to prepare for it. Planning ahead will keep meetings from becoming long-winded get-togethers where very little is accomplished. There are three essential stages to running a meeting listed below. Please click on the topic for more information. A. Preparing for the meeting B. Conducting the meeting C. Evaluating the meeting Adapted from Richard Chang and Kevin Kehoe, Meetings that Work!. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer Preparing for the Meeting First, your organization needs to decide who will be in charge of the meetings. This should be outlined in your constitution and it is normally the president. Sometimes, it is the responsibility of the secretary to create the agenda but the president leads the meeting. If this is the case, the president and the secretary need to work together so both know exactly what needs to be covered at the meeting. Once your organization has a person designated as running the meeting, this person must do all of the preparatory work to ensure a successful meeting. The items to consider for preparation are as follows: A. Agenda: Know what you want discussed at the meeting. This will keep the meeting focused and will clearly tell everyone when a topic will be discussed. B. Speakers: Determine if anyone needs to report on a project. Contact anyone who you expect to speak and tell that individual what is expected so he/she can come prepared. C. Room reservations: Check to see that you have a room...