Last week, I enjoyed FIVE quality thanksgivings across Illinois…alongside several other exciting meetings. This meeting-induced excitement caused me to reflect on what makes a meeting optimal vs. terrible. At this point I remembered: “Hey I already wrote that in The Student Leader’s Field Guide.” How convenient!

Revised and updated for the broader-than-just-student world, are the Ten Commandments for Effective Meetings (complete with roman numerals just to be hard-core and Moses-esque).

I. Make sure the meeting is necessary.

Why have a meeting when an email would suffice? It’s a poor idea to have a meeting just to have a meeting, or because “we always meet on Wednesdays.” When people meet, sit around, and try to manufacture some business to discuss, the membership’s passion and interest languish. What’s the objective of the meeting (see sixth commandment)? If you don’t have one, there’s no need for the meeting.

II. Provide ample forewarning.

Everybody’s busy—and has uniquely differing schedules and demands. Short notice is a leading cause of poor attendance and preparation. If possible, set 48 hours notice as your personal minimum, with more notice preferable. And reminders don’t hurt if you’ve got a dispersed team. It’s easiest for most parties to remember a regular, weekly meeting time. Within the meeting notification communications, you can also alert them to the primary objective of the meeting. Advance notifications let brains percolate and bring out things.

III. Schedule wisely.

Before the meeting, collect everyone’s schedule information. If you can’t view everyone’s Outlook calendar, there are all sorts of convenient online tools. Even after you collect everyone’s scheduling information, you may be committing some alternative scheduling snafus. If there’s critical TV, or everyone will be distracted preparing for an upcoming major event, watch out!

IV. Be Prepared.

If you were ever wondering why you pay consultants so much money, here’s the answer: they (should) prepare and execute world-class meetings. It takes hard work—and the step is often neglected. What do you have to bring in order to ensure the meeting’s objectives are met? If you’re making a major decision, that might require months of thorough research. Whenever the team is gathering, ask yourself if they need anything. The meeting is a perfect time to give and receive physical items. Offer visual aids (PowerPoint, hand-outs) for visual-oriented information, such as timelines and scheduling. Bring whatever you need to make things move smoothly. The more often you hear the phrase, “We’ll send you an email about that” in a meeting, the less prepared the meeting planner.

V. Honor the start time and the end time.

If you never start until ten minutes after the declared start time, people will start showing up later. Then, you’ll wait longer for more people to show up, and the vicious cycle quickly destroys any semblance of promptness. Set a rule about how long you plan to wait, and stick to it. You might decide to begin business at the exact start time or exactly four minutes after the start time. The choice is yours—but let the group know and remain firm.

VI. Have an agenda.

A meeting requires at least one objective to exist (see point one). “Seeing where we’re at” doesn’t count. Clearly articulate: “Reach a decision regarding ____”, “Inform team about developments in ______.” “Celebrate _____ with refreshment and merriment.” This will guide everything else. Yogi Berra summarized it well: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.” So, make it clear at the beginning of the meeting what decisions are to be rendered and / or what sort of output you expect from the effort. Feeling an expectation for results from the beginning, attendees will censor themselves slightly and feel more engaged as they search for solutions to the issues at hand. Ensure everyone can visually see what is on the agenda—be it with printouts or visual aids. The printed word has mighty focusing power.

VII. Follow the agenda (more or less).

If there’s a lot of love in your team, people will inevitably want to chatter all around any number of topics. It will take some tough love and discipline to keep your group on top of the agenda. If someone says something excellent that should be addressed, go ahead and add that to the agenda at the end. The magical phrase is, “That’s item X on the agenda, so we’ll get to that shortly.” It draws their attention to the agenda and trains people to follow it.

VIII. Engage.

Engagement is really what meetings are all about; it is the bread and butter of any assembly. Indeed, if you don’t need to engage in interactive discussion, then you’re better off sending an email. If you only hold meetings to decree what you’ve decided, morale suffers quickly. Don’t pretend that you know everything or have thought about everything. Be humble and honest about your thoughts and conclusions, and be open to being wrong. Boldly ask for what you need, whether that’s volunteers, ideas, or criticisms. Engage and include people in the goings on of a meeting, so everyone feels like they matter. If someone is notably silent or looks like they have an idea, go ahead and ask for that person’s input.

IX. Review assignments at the end.

It’s easy for people to forget what they said they would do. When you repeat each person’s commitment at the end of the meeting, it sends the message: “Hey, we’re serious about this and we have you on record.” The declaration to the whole membership reinforces their commitment. Also, the initial review makes people much more prone to remember their original commitments.

X. Send out a follow-up message.

The follow-up is the icing on the meeting cake. It gives people who were not at the meeting a chance to stay in the loop. It’s also helpful for the people who were there because they fill in the inevitable gaps arising when people zone out. Follow-ups affirm that people were indeed heard and made it on the record. You may wish to have a separate section, called “member commitments”, “tasks”, “action items”, or something of that nature to highlight these commitments. It’s amazing how a simple email can make all the difference between talk and action—particularly for volunteer organizations.

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