HOW TO CREATE AN AGENDA STP BY STEP (1)

8/7/2019 HOW TO CREATE AN AGENDA STP BY STEP (1)

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WHAT IS AN AGENDA???

An agenda is a list ofmeeting activities in

the order in which they are to be taken up,

beginning with the call to order and endingwith adjournment. It usually includes one

or more specific items of business to be

considered. It may, but is not required to,

include specific times for one or moreactivities. An agenda may also be called a

docket.


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Creating an effective agenda is one of themost important elements for a productive

meeting. Here are some reasons why themeeting agenda is so important

HOW TO CREATE AN

AGENDA STP BY STEP???


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The Agenda

communicates important information such

as:1. topics for discussion

2. presenter or discussion leader for eachtopic

3. time allotment for each topic


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provides an outline for the meeting (how long to spendon which topics)

Can be used as a checklist to ensure that all informationhas been covered

lets participants know what will be discussed if it'sdistributed before the meeting. This gives them anopportunity 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)


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How to Create an Effective

Agenda You're responsible for planning your

project meeting this month. Arrggh!! What

to do? Now you understand how importantan 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.


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Send an e-mail stating there will be a

meeting, the goal of the meeting as well as

the administrative details such as whenand 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


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Ask participants requesting an agenda

item to contact you no less than two days

before the meeting with their request andthe amount of time they will need to

present it


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Once all of the agenda requests have been submitted toyou, summarize them in a table format with the headingsAgenda Item, Presenter and Time. It's your responsibilityto ensure that each agenda item is directly related to the

goals of this particular meeting. If an inappropriaterequest is made, suggest that person send an e-mail ormemo instead or recommend that this agenda item bediscussed in another meeting. Also, you must be realisticin the amount of time you allocate to each presenter.

Don't cram an unrealistic number of agenda items intoan hour meeting. When people accept an hour meeting,they expect to be finished in an


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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


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. 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 beenallocated.


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. Of course, the most important part of

creating an effective agenda is to follow it

during the meeting!


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FUNCTIONS OF AN AGENDA

An effective meeting agenda, which states what activitieswill take place during the meeting, serves variousimportant functions:

It forces the meeting leader or group to think out what

needs to be accomplished

Provided ahead of time (as it should be), the agenda letspeople know what to expect and allows them to prepareas 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


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Public agendas are typically binding

meaning the meeting participants cannot

stray from the items they said they would

cover. However, agendas for private

organizations are often flexible


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Creating a Meeting Agenda

The meeting agenda is a roadmap for the

meeting. It lets participants know where

they're headed so they don't get off track.

Most importantly, the meeting agenda

gives a sense of purpose and direction to

the meeting


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All agendas should list the following:

Meeting start time

Meeting end time

Meeting location

Topic headings

Include some topic detail for each heading

Indicate the time each topic is expected to last Indicate which meeting participants are

expected to be the main topic participants


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An organized meeting needs a well written

agenda. Use these steps for you team call

also. Remind your team to not be using

their cell phone or their computer during

the meeting, even on team calls. Before

you start the meeting make sure they are

prepared to take notes. This is also veryimportant when you are at the agency

meetings and new agent training


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STEPS

1

Start preparation well in advance. It will

show if you rush the agenda - you're likelyto forget things or to put things in the

wrong order


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2

If you are having special guests attendingthe meeting, find out whether they have anyissues that can be combined because theyare related, similar, or even the same interms of means or ends. If so, arrange themunderone agenda item. Organize the orderevents according to time and importance. Ifsomething really needs to be discussedurgently or as a matterof priority, you maywish to put it near the top of the agenda soyou can be certain youwill get to it


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in the course of the meeting. Some peoplelike to put things that take a lot of time nearthe top of the agenda, so that they can becertain they will be able to talk at length

about them. Others prefer to put such itemsnear the bottom as it means that discussionon these topics won't pushother items offthe agenda and discussion that does occurwill be forced to be succinct; it's your call

dependent on the topic. It may take a littletrial and error to decide on an organizationstyle you like.


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3

Check the agenda for errors. Doing so

reflects on your attention to detail and carefor your position. It also prevents people

being distracted by minor errors or by

making points of order about errors.


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4

Print the agenda or email it to all attendees.

You should do this as near to the actual

meeting as possible. If emailing, only do so ifthis has been agreed to by prior arrangement

and always have spare paper copies up your

sleeve at the meeting. Someone always

forgets to bring a printed copy!

edit Tips


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Tips

If your company has a special form for agendas,

use this form as a template. For some places, it

is essential to stick to the formula.

Depending what your colleagues are prefer, itmight be worth keeping to a deadline for people

suggesting ideas to add to the agenda. Name a

cut-off date and time, and stick to it. Allow for

amendments where these enhance the agendaor are simply a case of events overriding your

original agenda


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If somebody cannot make the meeting,

consider creating an "Advance Apologies"

section at the top of the agenda, or leave a

space for this and simply announce them

during the meeting.


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An excellent tool for having a productive

meeting is using "OARR": Objectives,

Agenda, Roles & Responsibilities. First,

your meeting should have an objective. If

you are having a meeting to just impart

information, don't waste people's time with

a meeting. Send them a newsletter. Theobjective should have an active

component and if possible


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a product to show for it: "Determine the

quarterly goals for the team". The agenda

is a list of the topics you'll address to get to

that objective, with a time limit to keep you

on track. For example "1. Review the

status of last quarter's goals (15 minutes),

2. Round-table suggestions for goals (20minutes), 3. Pick top 5 goals (10


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10 minutes), etc.) ForRoles and

Responsibilities, determine who is running

the meeting, who is keeping notes, and

who will assign actions/"to do" items

resulting from the meeting


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MINUTES OF A MEETING

Minutes, also known as protocols, are the

instant written record of a meeting or

hearing. They often give an overview of

the structure of the meeting, starting with a

list of those present, a statement of the

various issues before the participants, and

each of their responses thereto. They areoften created


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at the moment of the hearing by a typist or

court recorder at the meeting, who may

record the meeting in shorthand, and then

prepare the minutes and issue them to the

participants afterwards. Alternatively, the

meeting may be audiorecorded or a

group's appointed or informally assignedSecretary may take notes


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with minutes prepared later. However it isoften important for the minutes to be briefand concentrate on material issues rather

than being a verbatim report, so theminute-taker should have sufficientunderstanding of the subject matter toachieve this. The minutes of certain

entities, such as a corporate board ofdirectors, must be kept and are importantlegal documents.


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Minutes of Meetings - STEPS

These days, many of us find ourselves in

the position of taking minutes of meetingswithout a clue of how to go about it. The

following is a guide for making this task

easier:


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Make sure that all of the essential

elements are noted, such as type of

meeting, name of the organization, date

and time, name of the chair or facilitator,

main topics and the time of adjournment.

For formal and corporate meetings include

approval of previous minutes, and allresolutions

urnment. For formal and corporate meetings include approval of previous minutes, and all


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Prepare an outline based on the agenda

ahead of time, and leave plenty of white

space for notes. By having the topics

already written down, you can jump right

on to a new topic without pause


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Prepare a list of expected attendees and

check off the names as people enter the

room. Or, you can pass around an

attendance sheet for everyone to sign as

the meeting starts.


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To be sure about who said what, make a

map of the seating arrangement, and

make sure to ask for introductions of

unfamiliar people


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Don't make the mistake of recording every

single comment, but concentrate on

getting the gist of the discussion and

taking enough notes to summarize it later.

Remember that minutes are the official

record of what happened, not what was

said, at a meeting


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Use whatever device is comfortable for

you, a notepad, a laptop computer, a tape

recorder, a steno pad, shorthand. Many

people routinely record important meetings

as a backup to their notes


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Be prepared! Study the issues to be

discussed and ask a lot of questions

ahead of time. If you have to fumble for

understanding while you are making your

notes, they won't make any sense to you

later.


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Don't wait too long to type up the minutes,

and be sure to have them approved by the

chair or facilitator before distributing them

to the attendees


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Don't be intimidated, you may be called

upon many times to take minutes of

meetings, and the ability to produce

concise, coherent minutes is widely

admired and valued.

HOW TO CREATE AN AGENDA STP BY STEP (1)

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