An agenda outlines the contents of an upcoming meeting. It informs members of what will be discussed so they can prepare. A well-structured agenda keeps a meeting on track and ensures all important topics are covered in the allotted time. It typically includes the meeting date, time, location, items to discuss, presenters for each item, and time allotted for each. Providing a clear agenda in advance improves meeting effectiveness and productivity.

2. WHAT IS AN AGENDA?
DEFINITION:
Agenda is a document that outlines the contents
of a forthcoming meeting.
It is usually sent along with the notice of the
meeting. Sometimes the agenda is prepared after the
circulation of the notice in order to enable the members
to get included in the agenda any time that they would
like to be discussed at the meeting.

6. VARIOUS IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS OF AGENDA:
• It forces the meeting leader or group to think out
what need to be accomplished.
• Provided ahead of time, the agenda lets people
know what to expect and allows them to prepare
as necessary.
• It provides a blueprint or path for the meeting to
follow.
• It reminds people of what there is left to cover if
time gets to be an issue.

7. Creating an effective agenda is one of the
most important elements for a productive
meeting. Here are some reasons why the meeting
agenda is so imporatant.
The Agenda:
communicates important information such as:
1. Topics for discussion
2. Presenter or discussion leader for each topic

8. 3. Time allotment for each topic provides
an outline for the meeting (how long to
spend on which topics)can be used as a
checklist to ensure that all information is
covered lets participants know what will
be discussed if it's distributed before the
meeting. This gives them an opportunity
to come to the meeting prepared for the
upcoming discussions or decisions.
provides a focus for the meeting (the
objective of the meeting must be clearly
stated in the agenda)

9. One of the keys to a great meeting is following a
set agenda. Depending on your needs, there are
different meeting agenda formats. Stay organized
by learning which meeting agenda format is best
for your next meeting.
Purpose of Meeting Agendas
The main purpose of meeting agendas is to keep
the meeting focused. The agenda is basically an
outline of all topics that need to be covered during
the course of the meeting. In addition, there is
typically a set amount of time in which to cover
each topic in order to have a more
productive, faster meeting. When given in
advance, meeting participants have time to
prepare any questions or comments before the
meeting. Below, you'll find some common
meeting agenda formats you can utilize.

10. FORM OF AGENDA:
The Agenda is usually headed with the date, time and location of the
meeting, by a series of points outlining the order of the meeting.
Points on a typical AGENDA may include:
 Welcome/Open meeting
 Support for absence
 Approve minutes of the previous meeting

11.  Matters arising from the previous meeting
 A list of specific points to be discussed
 Arrange/announce details of the next meeting
 Tea and Biscuits
 Close meeting

12. MEETING AGENDA-SAMPLE:
Heading
 Name of club and venue of meeting.
 Meeting of Management committee.
 Date of meeting
Agenda Items
 Attendance – Names of all committee members in attendance
 Apologies-Names
 Minutes of the previous meeting
 Moved that the minutes of the meeting held (date) be confirmed as a correct record

13.  Matters arising from the minutes (e.g. Tasks that have to been completed)
 Correspondence-inwards/outwards
 Reports(e.g. President, Treasurer, Facilities,Volunteer coordinator etc)
 General business(e.g. issues of concern to members)
 Next meeting-Date,time and venue for the next committee meeting
 Closure-The chairperson thanks members for attending and closes the
meeting at (time)

15. How to Create an Effective Agenda
You're responsible for planning your project meeting this month. Arrggh!!
What to do? Now you understand how important an agenda is to the effectiveness of
the meeting, but don't know how to create one. Breathe easy! All you have to do is
follow the steps outlined below.
1. Send an e-mail stating there will be a meeting, the goal of the meeting as well as the
administrative details such as when and where it will be. Ask those invited to accept
or decline the meeting. Make it clear that once they have accepted the meeting, they
are expected to attend.
2. Ask participants requesting an agenda item to contact you no less than two days
before the meeting with their request and the amount of time they will need to
present it.

16. 3. Once all of the agenda requests have been submitted to you, summarize them in
a table format with the headings Agenda Item, Presenter and Time. It's your
responsibility to ensure that each agenda item is directly related to the goals of this
particular meeting. If an inappropriate request is made, suggest that person send an
e-mail or memo instead or recommend that this agenda item be discussed in
another meeting. Also, you must be realistic in the amount of time you allocate to
each presenter. Don't cram an unrealistic number of agenda items into an hour
meeting. When people accept an hour meeting, they expect to be finished in an
hour. When meetings go over time, people generally tend to get uneasy. It's better
to schedule 50 minutes of discussion into an hour time slot. This way you have 10
minutes to spare and if you get done a little early, people will be pleased.

17. 4. Send the agenda to all the meeting participants the day before the meeting with a
reminder of the meeting goals, location, time and duration. At this time, ask the
presenters if they are happy with the order in which they will be speaking and the
amount of time they have been allocated.
5. Of course, the most important part of creating an effective agenda is to follow it
during the meeting!

20. SAMPLE OF AN AGENDA :
Sample 1:
The next Quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors will take place on
Monday, 18th September, 2009 at 5 p.m. in the conference room.
Agenda
1. Minutes of the last meeting.
2. Matters arising for the minutes
3. Financial irregularities in Madurai branch
4. Reorganization of work in Bangalore branch
5. Any other business
6. Date of Next Meeting