A walk through on how to hold effective meetings in your company or organization. The focus is on structure and being able to own the room. Visit: http://www.whoozin.com It's Free

1. A process that will help you produce strong, productive meetings.

2. Table of Contents.
Purpose
Logistics
Agenda
Structure
Participants
RSVP
Wrap Up
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3. Introduction.
When you fail to plan,
you plan to fail.
Professional meetings not only require thorough planning
and attention to detail but a creative touch as well to make
each meeting memorable in some degree.
Putting in time and effort to your meeting will make the
participants feel that you’ve made their meeting top priority
and you plan to have each participant take something away
from the meeting.
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4. First and foremost, you should know why you are
Purpose. meeting.
What kind of meeting are you trying to have?
“ Approximately 11 million
meetings occur in the
U.S. each and every day.
•
•
•
Training?
Weekly meeting?
Quarterly?
” What will you be trying to accomplish or gain?
What information will be exchanged or decisions
made?
The more information you gather, the better idea you
will have in determining how to set up the proper
environment for this event.
You have to make sure a meeting will be the best use
of time and energy for all participants.
Once the type of meeting is established, proceed
with planning the meeting. Assign a primary point of
contact that will book the meeting room or offsite
location.
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5. Logistics. * Offsite meetings could also be considered
workshops. A new environment can spark
creativity and communication.
Make sure the meeting room is booked. If the meeting is offsite, make
sure the location is booked and you have a map with directions for the
facility. Make sure you know where the washrooms are and emergency
exits are in the off site location.
Room Setup - Make sure the temperature of the room is comfortable
and also be sure to know which seating configuration to go with:
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6. Logistics.
Also make sure you have any necessary handouts ready or any
computers set up . If the room is quite large or the group is
large, having a microphone available wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Media – Make sure there is internet access if you have
computers in the room. If you are using multimedia it’s always
a good idea to test it before the meeting. Also, be sure to have
an IT person ready via phone call or email just in case
something goes wrong with any of the equipment.
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7. Agenda.
* Best meeting times are: Your agenda will be the roadmap to your
successful meeting. A couple of things to keep in
mind when creating your agenda:
9am (before being
immersed in daily work) 1. Are your objectives clear?
2. Will everyone understand your purpose and
task?
3pm (after the grogginess 3. Does your agenda provide clear direction of
of lunch) this meeting?
4. Is your contact information on the agenda?
Once you have completed your agenda, make
sure your attendees receive a copy at least two to
three days prior to the meeting. This will allow
the attendees to prepare for topics that will be
discussed.
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8. In order to accomplish your purpose, you have to be organized. Lack of
organization and structure could have your audience lose interest in
your meeting and drift off. Some things to consider: Will there be a
guest speaker? Will this meeting use videos or audio? Will there be
brainstorming sessions or group discussions? Carefully evaluate to see
which technique will increase your chances of obtaining the purpose
and goal of your meeting.
Most people like a combination of:
visual – 30%
spoken - 40%
interactive presentations – 30%
Be sure not to get caught speaking too much or letting the multi media
do most of your presentation or you will lose your audience. Own the
room!
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Structure.
“ 91 % of professionals admit to be
daydreaming during regular meetings.
”

9. Participants.
“ Most professionals attend
a total of 61.8 meetings per
Month.
”
First off, who will lead this meeting? Will it be you? Will there be a speaker? If you are going to be the
facilitator it is important that you follow some form of guidelines that will help you own the room and
tone of the meeting.
1. Begin on time and END on time – Everyone’s time should be respected. Arrive early and start right
on time. Ending on time is great but sometimes ending early is ok.
2. Stick to your Agenda – Go over the agenda with your attendees and make sure it works with
everyone. During the meeting always refer to it to stay on track.
3. Establish some ground Rules – Everyone must agree on the ground rules. Write them on a board or
paper where it is easy for everyone to read but keep in mind if you need to change them, go ahead.
4. Control the room – Make sure everyone gets a chance to participate in discussions even the quiet
folks.
Next step is to recognize your audience. The type of meeting you will be having will likely determine
your audience. For example: If you are having a budget meeting, your participants may include
managers and executive directors. This will help with scheduling as some attendees at this level may
have assistants to book their meetings.
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10. Always stay connected with the attendees. Whether it’s
yourself or the appointed point of contact, make sure
everyone is reminded 2-3 days prior to the meeting. Have an
RSVP system in place where participants can respond to
your meeting invitation letting you know if they will be
attending or not.
If any changes occur with the date make sure everyone is
notified. It’s always nice to call the attendees for reminders or
changes but sometimes using an RSVP software can help you
keep track of attendance.
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RSVP.
“ 82% of executives share meeting notes
with colleagues. Technology is helping
corporations organize their meetings.
”

11. At the end of a meeting you want to make sure
everyone is leaving happy, enlightened, energized and
glad they made the time to attend this meeting.
The Wrap Up. Whether it’s scheduling a final surprise speaker or
asking facility or event staff to provide special end-of-
day refreshments for attendees, end your meeting on a
“
Sitting through a boring
meeting burns 88.5
calories. Same as watching
positive note that will have attendees excited about
the next one.
Distribute evaluations well before the conclusion of
paint dry.
” your meeting (or at mid-morning if it’s a one-day
event), so that you don’t lose anyone who may have to
leave early.
Try to communicate with the attendees a day or two
after the meeting. Encourage feed back and see what
some of the take-aways were.
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12. To further assist in your meeting plan, we have included a couple of checklists
that can help you with your next meeting. Enjoy and good luck!
Pre-Meeting Checklist: Meeting Day Checklist:
• Determine meeting goals and objectives • Set up the conference headquarters and
• Establish a specific standard by which you information desk to handle last-minute
will measure success or failure requests and details
• Choose a method of tracking attendance or • Confirm audiovisual, catering, equipment
registration. (RSVP software) rental, and attendee transportation to and
• Identify possible dates for the meetings, from events, if necessary
keeping in mind that flexibility will help in • If the meeting runs more than a day, meet
locating the right space and getting the best daily with staff and, if necessary, site
value (Us e a “poll” to have participants help contacts to go over each day’s event details
in deciding a date) and requirements
• Decide on space (general session, breakout
rooms, etc.), food and beverage, and
audiovisual requirements
• Confirm an speakers or special guests
• Establish a clear and appropriately detailed
agenda and include it in the RSVP invitation
email
• Confirm and finalize needs for audiovisual,
catering, and space
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13. Track “who’s in” for your group’s meetings
or events
From corporate meetings… to sports
teams… to family gatherings.
Ideal for recurring events!
bcanales@thinkpuddle.com
www.whoozin.com

14. References.
1. A network MCI Conferencing White Paper. Meetings in America: A study of trends, costs and attitudes toward business travel,
teleconferencing, and their impact on productivity (Greenwich, CT: INFOCOMM, 1998), 3.
2. Ibid.
3. Robert B. Nelson and Peter Economy, Better Business Meetings (Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin Inc, 1995), 5.
4. A network MCI Conferencing White Paper, Meetings in America: A study of trends, costs and attitudes toward business travel,
teleconferencing, and their impact on productivity (Greenwich, CT: INFOCOMM, 1998), 10.
5. Ibid., 8.
6. Eric Matson, "The Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings," in Fast Company, par. 11-13 [online magazine] (1996 [cited 14 April 1999]);
available from World Wide Web at http://www.fastcompany.com/online/02/meetings.html
7. Elizabeth Church, "Fitness Tips." Globe and Mail, Management Briefs.