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Meeting Suggestions: Keys to Management

Meeting management does not have to be as complicated as many people think. There are many different types of meetings, and meetings are held for a variety of purposes, which means the task of meeting management ultimately depends on the goal or what the meeting needs to accomplish. Some meetings are small and informal and require little overt "management." Others, however, are large meetings that involve many different people and an extensive agenda. Sometimes meeting management is so simple that people fail to realize it is even happening. This usually happens in small meetings where the leader is experienced and adept at handling the meeting process. Other situations, though, because of their size and complexity, require a level of management in order to run successfully and productively that is obvious to anyone participating.

Effective Meeting Management

Good meeting management begins with understanding that people's time is valuable and that brevity trumps loquaciousness. Meetings, though necessary at times, are not often the most productive use of anyone's time. Good meeting management, then, relies on keeping the meeting as brief and productive as possible, limiting the distractions, and ensuring that the meeting is actually necessary. If you are responsible for meeting management, take the time to clearly define a specific purpose or goal for the meeting, and then structure the meeting agenda strictly according that that end.

Another aspect of meeting management is ensuring that the meeting occurs at a time when everyone who is needed can attend. Meetings are an effective way of doing business sometimes because they allow different people or representatives to come together to discuss a topic jointly, reducing the number of person-to-person conversations that always seem to require the opinion or verification of a third party who is not present. Meetings can solve this problem, though, only when everyone is present. If a meeting is scheduled at a time when a key person cannot attend, little will be accomplished and much time will wasted.

The agenda is perhaps the most crucial part of meeting management because it establishes what path the meeting will take, which topics will be discussed, and what the ultimate goal of the meeting will be. The agenda helps keep everyone on track, limits distractions, and ensures that no important points or topics are forgotten. Meeting agendas should be shared with all the key players in the meeting to ensure that everyone feels it is adequate and complete, and there should be little deviation from it during the course of the meeting.

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