Successful meetings

Planning a meeting checklist

Before the meeting

• Organise and book the room
• Circulate an agenda, with a reminder about date, venue and timing
• Remind group members about the actions they were to undertake and are expected to report back on.

At the start of the meeting

• Introduce the agenda and see if there is anything to add
• Agree when and how breaks will be taken during any long meetings (over 1 hour - if a longer meeting of several hours, several breaks may need to be scheduled)
• Check attendance and record this if necessary
• Keep the group to the agenda and keep close attention to time-keeping
• Maintain a positive and supportive atmosphere
• Ensure everybody is able to contribute equally.

At the end of the meeting

• Agree and record action points
• Clarify who is doing what, by when.
• Agree the date of next meeting
• Agree who is going to take responsibility for organising the next meeting
• Agree who is taking other key roles at the next meeting, e.g. Chair, secretary/note-keeper, time-keeper.