How to prepare and schedule meetings
Problem
Nearly every knowledge worker describes the same problem: They must make decisions with their teams and inform others to take the next step in their projects. To that end, they often invite all stakeholders to a meeting, and the whole meeting explodes:
Two people arrive late and ask for a summary amid an ongoing discussion, while some others discuss a completely off-topic point.
Another person did not prepare necessary information for the meeting, while someone else disinterestedly answers emails. Suddenly, the meeting goal has become a distant memory. Twenty minutes over time, they conclude the meeting and feel miserable: Why did this meeting explode that way? Why did they not make any progress? How can we have better meetings?
Solution
Most of this article's ideas come from the book No Fail Meetings by Michael Hyatt. However, I also added some thoughts, experiences, and opinions derived from my daily practices.
To avoid confusion and lost time during meetings, we must prepare beforehand.
I always recommend starting with defining the goal.
What is the goal of the meeting?
What do you want to achieve with the meeting? When will the meeting be a success? Try to write down your goal in one sentence. You must do this to become aware of what you really want and to explain the meeting's goal to its participants. Meetings tend to get derailed if there is no goal to achieve, so the scope must be clarified. If you define the goal, you can also use it to continue preparing for the meeting.
Is there a better format for achieving this goal?
Is a meeting truly the best solution? Is asking for your team members' opinions on Slack or Teams enough? Can you talk to them during your next lunch break? Is a short phone call a better option?
If a meeting is the only way to achieve your goal, you can continue by preparing the program for the meeting.
Prepare the program
Ask yourself: What needs to happen to achieve the meeting goal? Who needs to present what? Who needs to contribute their opinion? Do we have to decide something? Write down every point and the presenting person. After your short brainstorming, bring the issues in a meaningful order and annotate the time you estimate for each point or person who contributes something. Also, schedule at least five minutes in the beginning to explain the meeting goal and program and another 5–10 minutes to decide about the subsequent actions. With this information, the following two questions are simple to answer:
Who needs to prepare what?
In the program above, you have already decided which person must present what information. Of course, the presenter must prepare this presentation or report before the meeting. Therefore, write down who needs to prepare which presentation or report for the meeting.
Who needs to attend the meeting?
You already wrote down who must contribute information to achieve the meeting goal. These people are set as required participants in the meeting. Additionally, there might be other people you want to invite to keep them in the loop. But be careful here: Always ask yourself if they really need to attend or if it is enough to send them the meeting minutes afterward. The more you invite to the meeting, the higher the chances it will get out of hand and the more difficult it will be to find a suitable meeting location and time slot.
Where to meet?
Most appointments these days occur online. Conveniently, no one needs to travel, and the daily schedule of each participant is more flexible. However, in some cases, a face-to-face meeting is better. The more sensitive a topic is, the more I advise face-to-face meetings. In these cases, try to find a location that best fits the meeting topic. Where is enough space for all participants? Which environmental conditions help us reach the meeting goal? Sometimes, a restaurant is the best fit and sometimes it is a meeting room.
When to meet?
Once you have decided on the meeting location, you can find a suitable time slot. Add up the times for each item on the program and round up the final duration to the nearest 15 minutes to calculate the length of the time slot you need for the meeting. In the best case, all invitees will share their calendar information with you so that you can look for a free time slot in their calendars. If not, I recommend using tools like Doodle or Fantastical to identify a suitable time slot.
Send out the invites
The final step is to send out the invitations. In nearly all cases, I invite people with my Apple or Outlook calendar to a meeting. Add the meeting goal, the program, the required preparation, and the location to the meeting description and invite all participants identified above.
Now, you are all set for a successful meeting. Everyone knows the goal, the program, the location of the meeting, and what to prepare. Your meeting will be a success!
Implementation
Define the meeting goal in one sentence.
Is there a better solution than a meeting?
Prepare the program:
What needs to happen to achieve the meeting goal, and how long will it take?
Include five minutes to explain the meeting goal and program at the beginning.
Include 5–10 minutes at the end of the meeting to write down the subsequent actions.
Who needs to prepare what?
Define the participants.
Define the meeting location.
Find a suitable time slot.
Send out the invitation.
