Do your members dread attending meetings because they are dull, unproductive, disorganized, and too long? Well, your club could be suffering from "meetingitis." But don't worry, with proper planning and preparation, any meeting can be effective and fun.
Organizational meetings have several functions. They give members a chance to discuss and evaluate goals and objectives (see Guide on Organizational Goal Setting) and keep updated on current events. They provide a chance to communicate and keep the group cohesive. But, most of all, meetings allow groups to pull resources together for decision making. If the facilitator starts with a careful plan and finishes with a thorough followup, the meeting will "run itself." The following are some tips to help make your next meeting successful, productive, and even fun.
Before the Meeting
1. Define the purpose of the meeting. If you cannot come up with a purpose, don't have a meeting!
2. Develop an agenda with officers and the advisor. Below is a sample agenda:
3. Distribute the agenda and circulate background material, lengthy documents or articles, prior to the meeting so members will be prepared and feel involved and uptodate.
4. Choose an appropriate meeting time and announce it well in advance. Set a time limit and stick to it. Remember, members have other commitments. They will be more likely to attend meetings if you make them productive, predictable and as short as possible.
5. If possible, arrange the rooms so that members face each other, i.e., a circle or semicircle. A conference table is best. For large groups, try Ushaped rows. Leaders have better control when they are centrally located.
6. Choose a location suitable to your group's size. Small rooms with too many people get stuffy and create tension. A larger room is more comfortable and encourages individual expression.
7. Use visual aids for interest, e.g., posters, diagrams, etc. Post a large agenda up front for members to refer to.
During the Meeting
1. Greet members/visitors and make them feel welcome, even late ones when appropriate.
2. If possible, serve light refreshments; they are good ice breakers and make your members feel special and comfortable.
3. Start on time. End on time.
4. Review the agenda and set priorities for the meeting.
5. Stick to the agenda.
6. Encourage group discussion to get all points of view and ideas. You will have better quality decisions as well as highly motivated members. They will feel that attending meetings is worth their while.
7. Encourage feedback. Ideas, activities, and commitment to the organization improve when members see their impact in the decisionmaking process.
8. Keep discussion on the topic toward an eventual decision. Feel free to ask for only constructive and nonrepetitive comments. Tactfully end discussions when they are getting nowhere or becoming destructive or unproductive.
9. Keep minutes of the meeting for future reference in case a question or problem arises. (See Guide on Keeping Minutes and Records.)
10. Leader, be a role model by listening, showing interest, appreciation and confidence in members. Admit mistakes.
11. Summarize agreements reached and end the meeting on a unifying or positive note. For example, if attendees number fewer than ten, have members volunteer thoughts of things they feel are good or successful, reciting a group's creed, or a good of the order.
12. Set a date, time and place for the next meeting.
After the Meeting
1. Write up and distribute minutes within 3 or 4 days. Quick action reinforces importance of meeting and reduces error of memory.
2. Discuss any problems during the next meeting with other officers; come up with ways improvements can be made.
3. Followup on delegation decisions. See that all members understand and carryout their responsibilities.
4. Give recognition and appreciation to excellent and timely progress.
5. Put unfinished business on the agenda for the next meeting.
6. Conduct a periodic evaluation of the meetings. Weak areas can be analyzed and improved for more productive meetings.