We dread what we feel is a waste of our valuable time, which and we often find our time watsedwasted include meetings. Admit it, you attend many but enjoy very few. The truth is that few meeting facilitators seem to have an agenda when they conduct meetings. Meanwhile, the attendees bring up their concerns and, thenand then off you go to a place that has little or no interest to you. In order to facilitate a successful meeting, the following guidelines will must be implemented to make the meeting a more meaningful experience for all involved.

Create an Agenda
Take the time to thoroughly write out your agenda and distribute it at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. No one wants to become engaged in your last minute emergency meeting. By allowing participants the time to review and digest the agenda, you will have many more ideas generated around your topics of discussion.

Follow your Agenda
The purpose of creating your agenda in advance is to have the time to carefully think through what points need to be addressed during the meeting. Therefore, it is good leadership and planning to stick to the game plan AKA, the agenda. After all, you thoughtfully created it and your participants are prepared with their feedback on the topics stated on the agenda.

Make 3 Points within your Agenda
Most people only retain 20% of what they hear, so keeping the points made to a minimum will assist with the retention of information. The objective is to provide and collect information while maintaining the attention of your audience. You do not want to have the attendees leaving with a sense of information overload.

Schedule and Maintain a Time Limit
Time Management is a great opportunity to show respect to others for allowing time to attend your meeting. Knowing that you are always mindful of the time will also increase the attendance to your meetings. Participants will leave your meeting feeling that it has been a good use of their time.

Encourage Participation
Having followed the previous steps will ensureensures that the attendees are able to articulate their thoughts and bring them to the meeting. Having laid the groundwork for what is to be discussed during the meeting, there are no surprises. There is only preparation. This step involves the participant and allows them to feel valued and appreciated.

The general reason for meetings is to come together and to have a “meeting of the minds.” In order to do so, you must first articulate why the gathering is necessary. It also helps the attendees to feel as though they are contributing, when they are given the time to brainstorm prior to the meeting. Taking the time to create a clear and detailedn agenda creates a win/win situation for both the facilitator and the attendees. People walk away from the meeting with a sense of direction and/or accomplishment.

Most of us walking on the planet simply want to be heard, have someone listen and validate our concerns. A meeting with an agenda is a great place to get those needs met, if your agenda with your time line is applied properly. Make meetings work for you. Have others looking forward to your meetings, and leaving with a sense of empowerment that they did not have prior to your meeting.