How To ...

by Patrick Nolan

SBJ Contributing Writer

An effective meeting requires pre-planning and attention to detail.

A meeting planner must determine the best medium for the topic, estimate the number of participants, decide who is wanted to attend and if the meeting is open to spouses, and find a location. That's before the detail work begins, said Bill Newell, president of Motivational Management Associates.

Generally there are two types of meetings the business meeting and the conference meeting. Business meetings are more common, as they happen almost every day in many offices. The conference-style meeting usually has a larger and less targeted audience. Typically the business meeting is for collaboration of in-house staff on a project or the dissemination of new policies to staff, said Susan Hoechst, Priority Management area franchise owner.

The business meeting. Ineffective meetings rank fourth out of the top five biggest wastes of time, according to a survey of executives by Priority Management. Hoechst said meeting planners need to be clear about the results they want to achieve during the meeting.

One of the first things a meeting planner should do is sit down and write out the goals of the meeting in a few sentences. This will help keep the planning on track, Hoechst said.

Knowing what you want to say or convey begs the next question. Who do you want to receive the message? Having unnecessary people at a meeting will increase the meeting's cost and reduce the productivity of those people in their other tasks, so reducing the size of your attendance may actually help the process of spreading your message.

You have a topic and an audience; now you need to choose the channel or medium you wish to use to convey your message.

Are you going to have a visual presentation? If so, planning space for an overhead projector, slide projector, or other display is necessary. Also, it is a good idea to assemble packets containing copies of the information presented visually and other items, such as the agenda and meeting evaluation.

"You should always have an agenda," Hoechst said.

The agenda serves as a guide for the meeting. It should have time frames for the topics being discussed. For example: "Sales Initiatives" 1-3 p.m. Not that the times are set in stone they are there to provide a little structure and help guide the meeting.

Planning time at the end of the meeting for participants to complete an evaluation of the meeting aids the planner in ensuring the message is communicated, and alerts him or her to possible ways to improve the meeting process. Just as every meeting's purpose will be different, every group of people is different, and no single approach is perfect for them all.

Before the meeting begins, appoint one of the attendees scribe, or bring someone in to take notes on the meeting. It is important that you record what is discussed and decided, according to Hoechst.

Also, these notes are great for the attendees to refer to when carrying out the decisions made in the meeting. It is a good idea for the attendees to receive a copy of the meeting notes showing what was decided and who was supposed to accomplish what within a day or two of the meeting, Hoechst said.

Following up the meeting is just as important as writing out your goals and planning effectively. Great things could be agreed upon at a meeting, but if they aren't acted on, nothing happened. The time was wasted.

The conference-style meeting. "Planners should make a checklist," Newell said. "I think checklists are a necessary thing."

Just like the business-style meeting, the conference-style meeting needs to plan the what, who, where and how of communicating the message.

What is the best medium for your message? Multi-media, live speakers, product demonstrations, or direct audience interaction?

"The more senses you can involve with the participants, the more they retain," Hoechst said.

Most conference-style meetings use any one or a combination of these. When picking the medium, you must consider the audience. Is your audience going to consist of corporate staff, sales staff, distributors, or customers? If your meeting is out of town, attendees may want to know if spouses are welcome, Newell said.

There are pluses and minuses to inviting spouses. Inviting them will encourage greater attendance if attendance is not mandatory; inviting the spouses also encourages good will toward the company. The down side is that spouses cost more. The logistics will be completely different when you have to deal with a rather large group of people who may not be interested in your meeting topic.

"Often, everybody is so busy during the meetings, spouses can be a little jealous of the time" spent in sessions, Hoechst said. "If you're going to have spouses, plan special activities for them."

Knowing who you want attend your meeting, and knowing how you want to present your information, are the first two steps. Now you need to decide how many people are going to attend. Newell said there are many variables here, with cost being the largest by far. If employees are required to attend, you have a starting point for figuring your attendance. Be careful not to underestimate.

"It is far easier to cancel rooms than it is to find more space later," Newell said.

Meeting planning

quick reference

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? Know what you want to say

? Know who you want to say it to and where

? Pass out copies of the agenda and all graphics

? Have meeting evaluations filled out

? Follow up the meeting

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