Creating an agenda may not be the most entertaining task you could be doing, but it sets your meeting up for success. An agenda organizes the meeting's purpose, talking points, action items, and decisions. It should include a concise and comprehensive outline of what should happen during the meeting, who is responsible for each item, and a schedule for each discussion point.
You can make an agenda in 4 easy steps.
1. What Is The Goal Of Your Meeting?
Start by asking yourself why you need this meeting. You don't have to overthink this; your answer could be along the lines of "To align on priorities...", "To launch a new project...", or "to share or seek input for a decision."
Your agenda allows participants to participate effectively in the meeting, whether they need to bring information or listen to the information that will be shared.
2. Create or Leverage A Template
Depending on your needs, you can download free agenda templates online or create your own. Creating a template will improve your efficiency on all future meeting agendas. Each agenda template should have the following sections:
Purpose/Goal: What is the goal of your meeting? (See Step 1)
Attendees: Who was invited and who attended
Discussion Points: This should include allotted timetables to speak and who is responsible for leading the discussion.
Action Items: This section will likely be blank at the start, but having it available will allow you to capture the action items, who is responsible for them, and when they should be completed.
Notes: Another blank section to start but leverage this section during the meeting to capture ideas, parking lot items, etc.
3. Seek Feedback
It's helpful to send your agenda to your teammates for review before distributing it to everyone in the meeting. "Many brains make light work," that's a saying...right? Oh well, it is now. Collaborate with your teams to ensure your meeting's schedule is established for the best outcomes.
Harvard Business Review wrote an article that explained why asking for input is essential:
"If you want your team to be engaged in meetings, make sure the agenda includes items that reflect their needs. Ask team members to suggest agenda items along with a reason why each item needs to be addressed in a team setting. If you ultimately decide not to include an item, be accountable — explain your reasoning to the team member who suggested it."
4. Send The Agenda Before The Meeting
Giving your participants as much time as possible to prepare for the meeting is extremely beneficial to your productivity. Sometimes you might not have the luxury of days to prepare, but the more time you can give, the better.
Remember, your agenda is more than a schedule. It can act as an information hub and make your life easier for documenting decisions, next steps, and meeting minutes.
Creating a thoughtful and well-executed agenda will allow you to lead your meeting with confidence. As you get more comfortable using agendas your productivity will skyrocket both in and out of the meetings.
Have An Amazing Agenda? Now What?
You did it. You built an amazing agenda to drive your meeting. Now what? Now the fun part! You get to share the invites to join! Leveraging the easiest and most intuitive meeting platform, EventStar365, is the best tool. You can build a powerful marketing page for your meeting and your attendees can easily register to attend. You don’t need a team to prepare for the meeting. You just need EventStar365!