The transition to remote work has resulted in more meetings and, unfortunately, has also created extra work and added stress. 71% of respondents from the University of North Carolina study said that meetings are primarily unproductive and inefficient. Here’s how you can write an agenda for a meeting, so everyone in the team feels more productive and efficient.👇
A meeting agenda, in a nutshell, is the discussion points in a meeting or the meeting outline.
Essentially, a meting agenda should:
There are different types of remote meetings, but regardless of the type, the traits of writing a good agenda for a meeting are the same.
What is the primary outcome of the meeting? If it’s a brainstorming session about a product launch, narrow down the scope of the topics. A product launch has many moving pieces, so everyone needs to understand the main focus.
For example, you can just focus on deciding where to launch. Is it on Product Hunt? Or do you want to launch in a closed Facebook Group first? Having a specific goal also raises the quality of ideas shared in the meeting.
An agenda meeting needs to be clear and specific.
Vague
❌ Brainstorm ideas for the launch
When things are vague, it raises too many questions. Instead, decide which ideas you plan to focus on. Or, if your company has many products, which product are you launching?
Clear and Specific
✅ Brainstorm ideas on the best channel to launch our new marketing course
Last but not least, a good agenda has a time limit. This is especially crucial for more creative meetings, such as brainstorming sessions. You want the best ideas to flourish in record time.
Here's an excellent example of an agenda with time slots:
Having time pressure, in this case, might even fuel people’s creativity. When there's a time limit, people think faster. This might relate to Parkinson's Law stating, "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." If you give people one hour to brainstorm ideas, they will fill that one hour. But if you limit it to 30 minutes, you might get the same results but in half the time.
When you’re clear with the goal, writing your agenda will be a breeze. In any type of meeting, here are the items to include:
📆 Date and Time
👥 Attendees
🎧 Link to the meeting
✅ Objective
⏲ Discussion Items
🔗 Relevant Links
You might also want to specify a facilitator, especially for cross-department meetings. Choosing a facilitator can save a lot of time and awkward silences.
Your agenda will largely depend on the type of meeting you have. But in any company, these are the three most common meetings**: staff meetings,** 1:1, and brainstorming sessions.
One major factor to consider is the number of attendees and how often the staff meeting is. Does the meeting happen weekly or monthly? If it’s weekly, the agenda could have fewer topics. If it’s monthly, it could have more topics and a longer duration.
Marketing Team Meeting: April 2021 Results
✅ Objective: Present and Discuss the Results of All Campaigns (Paid and Organic)
⏲ Discussion Items:
🔗 Relevant Links
For 1:1 meetings, you can use questions instead of bullet points. You might want to skip the time slots as well.
Framing the meeting in the context of questions may produce better answers, and as a manager, you can always have a private note of how long each segment will take.
✅ Objective: 30-minute Monthly Check-In and Chat
⏲ Discussion Items:
🔗 Relevant Links
Earlier, we discussed how to structure a brainstorming meeting. Now, it’s time we put them together.
Brainstorming Meeting for Product Hunt 2021 Launch
✅ Objective: Brainstorm and decide the best video for the Product Hunt launch
⏲ Discussion Items:
🔗 Relevant Links
Knowing how to write an agenda for a meeting is only half the battle. The next step is to understand the best place to create and manage it.
"Insight without action is worthless," according to author and entrepreneur Marie Forleo. Before ending the meeting, it’s crucial to turn the discussion points into action items to ensure the team is aligned.
