Get this How-To Guide and access over 350 premium-quality tools & templates for business at https://www.demandmetric.com/user/register JOIN FREE to get practical on-the-job resources and training plus all of our guides, methodologies, webinars and featured tools & templates.

1. Executive Summary
Running Effective and Actionable Meetings
When properly planned and executed, meetings can efficiently communicate ideas,
solve problems, and generate action items. Unfortunately, many managers waste
time by holding unnecessary or ineffective meetings. Read this summary to learn
how to run an effective meeting, and use Demand Metric's Meeting Agenda Template
and Meeting Minutes Template to standardize your meeting process.
Meeting Facilitation Best Practices:
• Plan & Delegate - Set a firm agenda and provide to attendees in advance.
Only book as much time as should be required to discuss each agenda item.
Delegate responsibilities such as recording minutes or setting up the room.
• Respect & Engage - encourage participation from all attendees to gather
multiple perspectives. Don't allow one or two individuals to control the entire
discussion. Be respectful and listen carefully to each participant's responses.
• Monitor & Measure - start your meeting at the scheduled start time, even if
all participants have not arrived. Review meeting minutes on a weekly basis
to ensure that action items are being followed up on.
Action Plan:
1. Plan your Next Meeting - review minutes from previous meetings, set clear
goals, objectives, and desired outcomes. Select a meeting location and
arrange logistics (seating, refreshments, equipment, nametags, parking, etc).
Use Demand Metric's Meeting Agenda Template to organize topics for
discussion and set timelines. Prioritize the agenda such that most important
items are discussed first. Send invitations and agenda to each attendee.
2. Facilitate the Meeting - start with a pointed introduction, amendments to
the agenda, and general housekeeping. Engage participants immediately by
setting expectations and helping them to feel comfortable. Use Demand
Metric's Meeting Minutes Template to document discussions for each topic.
3. Finish the Meeting - leave 10-15 minutes at the end of the meeting to
discuss resolutions, assign action items, and schedule next steps or meetings.
Send the minutes to each participant, and ask for feedback to determine
areas for improvement. Follow up on action items as outlined in the minutes.
© 2009 Demand Metric Research Corporation