We’ve all been in meetings that waste time and money. If it’s not the right people in the room, or irrelevant discussions meeting time isn’t always free. A meeting agenda that’s effective will help you achieve the meeting’s goal and help you achieve your company’s goals.

A well-organized and concise agenda for a meeting helps everyone understand what will happen during the meeting and helps participants prepare for it. The best way to develop an effective agenda for meetings is to include the following important elements:

The purpose of the meeting, and then list all expected outcomes of the discussion. This will help keep your attention on the most important issues and prevent unnecessary side-bars.

Then for each item on the agenda, identify what is to be discussed. This should include a brief description of the topic as well as the person who is responsible for addressing the topic. It will also define the time allotted to the discussion. It’s also helpful to mention the meeting’s location and time zone, particularly for remote teams.

In the case of a team that is collaborative, consider the agenda items https://boardroomliving.com/what-are-the-different-board-member-roles-and-responsibilities/ as an open-ended question that will be addressed by the group (i.e., “What steps should we take to rent equipment?” ?”). Announcing each discussion point as an open-ended question can encourage discussion and help to clarify what’s expected during the meeting.

Include an explanation of the procedure you expect to follow for each item on the agenda. This is one of the most neglected elements of a meeting and can significantly improve the effectiveness of meetings. A clear procedure will assist participants to decide how to approach a particular topic, which can lead to off-topic discussions or even a complete derailment. By having a procedure, it will allow attendees to adapt their remarks to fit the time frame or suggest that they have more time for a particular topic.