Project MMS (Meeting Management Simulation)

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Before the meeting

Selecting Participants

The decision about who is to attend depends on what you want to accomplish in the meeting. This may seem too obvious to state, but it's surprising how many meetings occur without the right people there.
Don't depend on your own judgment about who should come. Ask several other people for their opinion as well.
If possible, call each person to tell them about the meeting, it's overall purpose and why their attendance is important.
Follow-up your call with a meeting notice, including the purpose of the meeting, where it will be held and when, the list of participants and whom to contact if they have questions.
Send out a copy of the proposed agenda along with the meeting notice.
Have someone designated to record important actions, assignments and due dates during the meeting. This person should ensure that this information is distributed to all participants shortly after the meeting.

Developing Agendas

Develop the agenda together with key participants in the meeting. Think of what overall outcome you want from the meeting and what activities need to occur to reach that outcome. The agenda should be organized so that these activities are conducted during the meeting.
In the agenda, state the overall outcome that you want from the meeting
Design the agenda so that participants get involved early by having something for them to do right away and so they come on time.
Next to each major topic, include the type of action needed, the type of output expected (decision, vote, action assigned to someone), and time estimates for addressing each topic
Ask participants if they'll commit to the agenda.
Keep the agenda posted at all times.
Don't overly design meetings; be willing to adapt the meeting agenda if members are making progress in the planning process.
Think about how you label an event, so people come in with that mindset; it may pay to have a short dialogue around the label to develop a common mindset among attendees, particularly if they include representatives from various cultures.

Communicate in Advance

Before the meeting be sure to consider the following:

Advance agenda
Participants
Time and place
Preparation of materials
List of audio/visual equipment available to presenters
Requests for any special needs

Overview

It's important to communicate well in advance when the meeting will take place. We are all busy, and advance notice helps people clear their schedule and prepare for the meeting. Be sure the meeting participants know when and where to show up and what is expected of them. Their preparedness depends on the quality of your communication!

Checklist

Here's some of the essential information to include in your advance communication:

Meeting Owner(s)
Who is responsible for calling the meeting? Who should participants contact if they have questions about the content of the agenda? Who is the person (are the people) who worked with you to develop the agenda?
Meeting Location
Where is meeting being held - address, building and room number and map if needed.
Objectives or Outcomes
What is the purpose of the meeting? What is to be accomplished?
Preparation
What do participants need to prepare in advance or bring to the meeting?
Times
If the agenda is available send it as a draft in advance. It should include start and adjourn times as well as breaks so participants can plan around the schedule if they need to.

Meeting content:
A focus on the task.

Prepare in advance. Take the time to prepare for the meeting. This may take only a few minutes to collect your thoughts and jot them down or it may take hours for a formal presentation. But advance preparation will allow the meeting to move forward smoothly, eliminating wasted time and the impression that the meeting was unproductive.
Be clear about the meeting's objective. Why is this important? Because if participants can't articulate the clear purpose of a meeting, they will make up their own. If this happens, your meeting will wander in as many directions as there are participants.

Declaring a clear objective isn't a lofty goal and doesn't have to take an hour to do. Just be sure that the reason for coming together to present and collaborate has been clearly stated to all participants. Here are some clear objective statements for meetings:
- To design next year's marketing strategy.
- To gain consensus on the new manufacturing process standards.
Create a solid agenda. An agenda is an outline of things to be discussed at the meeting, along with a time budget for each item. To create your agenda, first look to the meeting objective, since your agenda is a path to achieving it. Then look to the participants since they will also have ideas about what is important.

Two important tips about the agenda:
- Prioritize agenda items in terms of importance to most participants.
- Assign realistic amounts of time to each agenda item.
Who will participate? On a small project team or task force, it will be easy to determine who should participate in meetings. However, in other situations, it's not always a clear choice. These questions provide a useful filter for choosing participants:

Whose input do we need?

Who's needed to make a decision?
Whose buy-in do we need to move forward?
Answer these questions and you'll know who needs to be there. Doing so may also eliminate a lot of your meetings. Many meetings are held whether or not key participants are available, but then you have to meet again when they can be there. You can save yourself and everyone else the headache by choosing participants appropriately and scheduling meetings to accommodate key participants' calendars.

Before The Meeting

Define the purpose of the meeting.
Develop an agenda in cooperation with key participants. See a sample agenda.
Distribute the agenda and circulate background material, lengthy documents or articles prior to the meeting so members will be prepared and feel involved and up-to-date.
Choose an appropriate meeting time. Set a time limit and stick to it, if possible. Remember, members have other commitments. They will be more likely to attend meetings if you make them productive, predictable and as short as possible.
If possible, arrange the room so that members face each other, i.e., a circle or semi-circle. For large groups, try U-shaped rows.
Choose a location suitable to your group's size. Small rooms with too many people get stuffy and create tension. A larger room is more comfortable and encourages individual expression.
Use visual aids for interest (e.g., posters, diagrams, etc.). Post a large agenda up front to which members can refer.
Vary meeting places if possible to accommodate different members. Be sure everyone knows where and when the next meeting will be held.