Agenda Planning Specifics Part II

This is the third part in a series of e-zines on agenda planning. In this e-zine I explore five more principles of agenda planning in more detail.

1. List the process you will use to achieve the desired outcome (i.e. will you brainstorm, use small group discussions, prioritize). Most groups rely almost exclusively on open discussion to achieve their goals. While this is okay in some situations, there are many other processes that can be used, and are often more effective at accomplishing the desired outcome. For example, structured go-arounds are a great way to gather diverse perspectives, broaden participation, or end a meeting, small group work can be very efficient (different groups can work on different tasks), allow more participants input, and it can create a safer environment for people who don’t like talking in large groups. Brainstorming can foster creativity and help a group get unstuck, and reports can add important information. In general, the more sensitive the topic, the more thought you will want to put into the process you use.

2. Things always take more time than expected. Plan for an additional 10 minutes for each hour. Rushing items in meetings creates stress and a feeling of failure and discouragement. If your agenda suggests that you can cover a topic in 10 minutes and it really takes an hour, the group will usually be anxious and irritable. If you error on the side of more time, and something takes less, the group will usually feel as though they are doing great work. Be realistic, rather than hopeful, about time.

3. Be sure that all the necessary people, and no unnecessary people will be attending. In general the smaller the group the more efficient the work will be. Take the time to figure out who really needs to attend.

4. Distribute agendas at least three days ahead of the meeting. While everyone may not read the agenda ahead of time, the more time people can think about and anticipate the topic, the more focused their contributions will probably be. In general, if people have an agenda three days ahead of time they will need to do less thinking out loud in a meeting.

5. Only include items on the agenda that cannot be handled in some other way before the meeting. Many groups waste a lot of time doing things in a meeting that could be handled by a few people outside of the meeting. In planning the agenda, do not include items that do not include the majority of the people. If there are important items that do not concern all participants, you might save them for the end of the meeting and excuse others from that conversation.

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