If you work for an organization of any size, you probably go to a lot of meetings. As you know, these can be very fruitful but they can also be a big waste of time. Here are some tips for organizing meetings to make them as effective as possible.

Before the Meeting

Invite only the people who really need to be there.

If possible, schedule the meeting for early in the morning. Most people are sharper then than in the afternoon, and things can move along more quickly.

Write up an agenda and give each topic a starting time and an ending time. The actual meeting will probably not stick exactly to the schedule, but setting the times like that helps everyone have a sense of movement from one item to the next. Choose someone to keep time and have the duty of keeping as close to the schedule as possible. This job should be rotated from one meeting to another.

On the agenda, indicate if someone is responsible for bringing something to the meeting. Make it stand out, by putting it at the top of the page or by making it bold.

Distribute the agenda in advance.

During the Meeting

To start with, ask people to turn off their cell phones.

Select one person to make notes and distribute them after the meeting. These notes should indicate all action items, who is going to do them, and by when. Also, just before the meeting ends, summarize what was decided regarding the action items, to be sure everyone is on the same page.

If the meeting consists of a presentation rather than of discussion, tell everyone that there will be a question period at the end of the presentation. Ask them to hold their questions until that time. With any luck, most of their questions will have been covered by then.

During the question period, if someone asks something that is off the topic and not of interest to the others, suggest that they speak with you (or with another appropriate person, depending on the question) privately after the meeting. You may sense a sigh of relief from many other people when you say this!

Remind people to turn their cell phones back on.

After the Meeting

The notes should go out the same day if possible.

For yourself, spend a few moments thinking about how the meeting went and anything you need to do. Make your own notes as needed.