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Setting an Agenda

Meeting Skills

Team FME
ISBN 978-1-62620-995-4
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ISBN 978-1-62620-995-4

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Setting an Agenda

Table of Contents

Preface 2
Visit Our Website 3
Introduction 4
The Purpose of an Agenda 5
Decision Tool for Invitees 6
A Guide to Aid Attendees to Prepare 7
Provides a Structure for the Meeting 8
An Aid to Controlling the Meeting 8
A Measure of Success or Failure 10
Designing an Agenda 11
What Should an Agenda Item Look Like? 14
Scheduling Meeting Breaks 15
Agendas for Short Meetings 17
Summary 19
Other Free Resources 20

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Setting an Agenda

An agenda represents far more than simply a list of items that need to be discussed.
In fact, a well-planned agenda is the foundation for a productive meeting and has five
distinct purposes, each of which has implications for organizational efficiency and for
maintaining good relations with your co-workers and team members.

You will learn:

Why you should always insist that a meeting is run to an agreed agenda.
The five distinct purposes that are served by a successful agenda.
How to incorporate all of these into any agenda that you develop.
How to arrange individual items and allocate realistic timescales.
How each item for discussion should be specified.

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Setting an Agenda

Visit Our Website

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Setting an Agenda

The best way to ensure that those attending your meeting are clear about its purpose is
to send them an agenda in advance. Your communication should demonstrate that the
focus of the meeting is for a specific reason and not just a broad general discussion.

Your agenda should state which issues are being discussed, in what order, and for how
long. It suggests the outline for the meeting minutes and to some extent predicts the
results of the meeting. An agenda should be short, timed, simple, and clear.

Clearly states its purpose and details the issues

Agenda to be discussed

Prioritizes the order in which things are best

Agenda discussed so that the meeting attains its purpose

Defines a period of time for each issue to be

Agenda discussed

An agenda is usually defined as a list of items of business to be considered and dis-

cussed at a meeting. Whilst this definition is technically true it obscures the fact that
agendas actually serve a variety of purposes and are not just lists of things to discuss.

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The Purpose of an Agenda

Your agenda should be more than just a list of discussion items to those you send it to. It
performs five separate functions:

1. Allowing invitees to decide whether or not they need to attend.

2. Acting as a reference so that attendees can prepare for the meeting.
3. Providing a structure for the meeting.
4. Giving the Chair a tool they can use to keep the meeting under control.
5. Representing a standard by which the meeting can be judged a success or failure.

Each of these has implications for organizational efficiency and for maintaining good
relations with your co-workers and team members, as well as achieving the objective of
the meeting.

Decision tool
for invitees

Measure Guide to aid

of success or invitees
failure prepare

Your Agenda
is a

Device of Structural
control tool

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Decision Tool for Invitees

This is a function of an agenda that is frequently overlooked and is key to ensuring that
you have the right people coming to the meeting. With the right attendees you can
achieve meaningful discussions, with everyone present making a valuable contribution
and the meeting objective being attained.

Attending your
Meeting is seen as a
productive use of
invitees time

One of the main reasons why people have negative feelings about meetings is that they
resent being made to sit through them unnecessarily. Many technical people resent
spending time in meetings as their contributions are often confined to some technical or
factual input, which could just as easily be delivered by an essential attendee who they
can brief.

Others may feel that their input adds little or no value to what is already being contrib-
uted so feel frustrated at attending when their time could be more productively spent
elsewhere. It is not always easy for you to discern whether someone should simply send
their recommendations to the meeting or attend in person. You need to ensure that all
invitees feel that their contribution is respected whether they attend or not.

Your best solution to this type of problem is to send a copy of the agenda asking at-
tendees if they would prefer to attend the meeting or make their recommendation in
some other way. You need to ensure that your key decision-makers recognize the need
for them to attend and contribute to the meeting otherwise you will not be able to attain
your meeting objective.

There are a variety of ways in which someone can contribute to your meeting effectively
without having to attend. An individual may feel that their personal contribution can be
effectively delivered via an email to other attendees or by providing a single-page over-
view that summarizes the key points that can be distributed at your meeting.

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They can also brief another invitee who can include the persons contribution as part of
their discussions. Another option is to make a recommendation through their manager
on the understanding that they will be available in person or on the phone if further clari-
fication is needed.

Ways to contribute without attending:

Send an informative email

Brief another attendee

Give the Chair a single page overview to use in item discussion

Send your recommendations through your manager

As a manager, you should do everything you can to protect your staff from being made to
sit through meetings that they feel are a waste of time, as this will have a positive effect
on morale and thus the productivity of your team.

A Guide to Aid Attendees to Prepare

Another function of the agenda is that by detailing what is to be discussed at the meet-
ing, it encourages attendees to prepare properly for it. This preparation may involve sim-
ply taking along facts and figures or perhaps something more complex like preparing a
short presentation or single-page summary.

In either case, the agenda positively encourages all of the attendees to prepare for the
meeting properly. The timed allocations set aside for each item clearly indicates to at-
tendees that they must have their arguments well thought through and prepared if they
dont want to appear disorganized and unprofessional.

Your agenda needs to be sufficiently detailed and clear for people to be able to use it as a
tool to prepare properly. It is important that any amends or additions to your agenda are
communicated quickly to all attendees. A poorly put together agenda can lead to ill feel-
ing if attendees feel that it has not given them sufficient information to prepare properly.

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A political tactic sometimes used is to keep one or more attendees deliberately in the
dark about some aspect of the meeting so that they can be outmaneuvered due to their
lack of preparation and bounced into agreeing to something that they would not other-
wise have agreed to.

This tactic is highly unprofessional but can work well provided that the party doing the
bouncing is prepared to forego any future trust. That individual would have to live with
the consequences of such an underhand approach, both for themselves and their orga-

Provides a Structure for the Meeting

Your agenda performs the vital role of keeping the meeting on track; it is extremely diffi-
cult to achieve this without one. Attendees often have their own views on what is impor-
tant and these may be different to those of the organization as a whole or not conducive
to the meetings purpose.

When this is combined with the fact that some people simply like to talk, then it is not
surprising that meetings can take up a lot of time and achieve very little in the absence
of an agenda and a Chair who is prepared to enforce it.

An Aid to Controlling the Meeting

This point is subtly different to the previous one. Very often the Chair in a business meet-
ing is at the same organizational level as the other attendees and cannot rely on his or
her seniority to ensure that others comply. So the Chair will use the agenda as the device
that ensures he or she has the control needed to keep the meeting flowing and to make

Without a timed agenda it can be difficult to stop determined attendees from hijack-
ing the meeting to suit their own purposes. This is one reason why the agenda should
specify the scope of each item as well as an allocated time for dealing with it. When this
time limit has been reached, the Chair has control over the meetings proceedings and
has the power to draw the discussion to a close, summarizing actions and conclusions
as required.

If you wish to retain control of your meetings then it is highly recommended that you
never have Any Other Business, commonly referred to as AOB, at the end of your agen-
da. This single item is the most disruptive and destructive thing that can happen to your

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meeting. AOB gives anyone the opportunity to hijack your meeting and destroy all that
you have achieved up to this point, completely derailing your strict time control.

Some Chairs like to use this item as a way to control and focus discussions by using the
line lets cover that under AOB. Whilst this does prevent going off on a tangent during
the meeting it only prolongs the diversion and will significantly extend the meeting be-
yond its timeframe!

Many attendees may have to leave the meeting on time due to other commitments so
will leave before AOB discussions start, missing the key part of the meeting: the Chairs
summary. If you have let this occur you have to ask yourself, has the meeting still been
a success?

disruptive & A.O.B.
agenda item

Proper preparation
negates the need
for it

If you have prepared your agenda properly and from a knowledge-base you do not need
to have such an item because all pertinent issues have been itemized and any issue out-
side the purpose of the meeting has been addressed by another meeting or in a more
appropriate manner.

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Setting an Agenda

A Measure of Success or Failure

The creation of an agenda is not an exact science. You will need to use judgment based
on experience in order to specify exactly what should be covered and how much time
each item is likely to need to allow a full discussion. The extent of your own preparation
into gaining information so that you have a thorough understanding of the purpose of the
meeting will greatly assist you in this task.

If the meeting did not succeed in addressing every item on the agenda successfully then
you should ask yourself if the agenda was too optimistic or the timeframe too short for
a full discussion of all necessary facts. On the other hand, you may decide that more
could have been covered and that decisions could have been made in less time than was

Your success may also be dependent on who the actual attendees were. If a key expert or
decision-maker was absent then this could greatly hamper your ability to succeed.

Key Points
An agenda:
44 Allows invitees to decide whether or not they need to attend.
44 Acts as a reference so that attendees can prepare for the meeting.
44 Provides a structure for the meeting.
44 Gives the Chair a tool they can use to keep the meeting under control.
44 Represents a standard by which the meeting can be judged a success or failure.

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Designing an Agenda
To ensure that your agenda attains its five purposes it should broadly follow the lines
recommended below.

Logistics Date, time & Meeting title

location & attendees

Purpose of Background
the meeting information

Housekeeping Apologies for Approval of

absence previous minutes

Heading & Time

Presenter allocation

Close Summary & next Actions list &

meeting responsibilities

Your agenda should have a meaningful title as its heading, followed by the date, time, and
location of your meeting. Below these details you should list the confirmed attendees.

All these details inform everyone when and where they need to be and why they will be

Next you clearly state the objective of the meeting so that no one is in any doubt as to
what the meetings aims are. You will also motivate them to attend because they see a
true purpose to the meeting. By prominently positioning your objective attendees can
clearly see why they have been invited to attend and what preparation is necessary for
them to make valued contributions.

This logical statement enables attendees to understand the reasoning behind the agen-
da items and is persuasive in gaining their agreement to come to your meeting. Without
it, your list of discussion items would appear haphazard and lacking logic.

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To add further substance to your objective your agenda should detail any background
documents that form an essential part of the discussions, and where necessary you
should attach them to the agenda.

It is vital that this documentation be summarized information or an overview of a certain

aspect forming a key support to all attendees. This information must not be an onerous
burden; all items must add value in terms of the understanding they would bring to the
reader. Ensure your Chair brings sufficient copies of the final agenda and previous min-
utes so that all attendees have sight of a copy.

Your agenda will then detail other obligatory details: firstly, a list of all those who have
sent their apologies or who have named an authorized stand-in. If any of these individu-
als have feedback on any particulars relating to the last meeting they will be made known
to the meeting when the Chair formally asks for approval of the previous meeting.

This formal process details any amends, which are accepted or rejected by all those
present as an accurate representation of that meeting. The Chair and any other required
personnel will officially sign the previous minutes and a copy is filed according to the
legal requirements of your organization or industry.

Your agenda items must be numbered so that people can see the order of discussion and
follow the logical process drawn out so that the meeting objective can be attained. The
Chair, who offers a short overview to ensure all attendees are working at the same level
of understanding, should present each item. The Chair will also introduce any speaker as
required in this introduction.

As part of the introduction the Chair should formally remind everyone of the allotted
time for the items as shown on your agenda. You will share out the available meeting
time between your items in terms of their importance and priority in terms of the meet-
ing objective and your organization.

This is one of the most important mechanisms the Chair will use to control the flow of
the meeting discussions. It also discourages attendees from spending too much time on
trivial or non-contentious items.

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Your Agenda Include support

Define the issue
document if
Items to debate

Prioritize it Allocate time Ensure length

against the based on each of meeting is
objective issues importance sufficient

Finally the Chair will summarize the decisions and list of actions that have been agreed
during the meeting. This item is a vital aspect and will indicate how well your objective
has been achieved. It is an excellent way to ensure that all key resolutions have been
noted as part of the minutes.

The Chair will thank everyone for their contribution and let them know when they can
expect to receive the minutes, formally closing the meeting. This must be done swiftly so
that those with actions have sufficient time to perform them.

Key Points
44 Your agenda should be headed with a title, date, time, the location of the
meeting, and a list of expected attendees.
44 By clearly stating the objectives of your meeting at the top of the agenda,
attendees are more likely to prepare properly and less likely to resent being
asked to attend.
44 The expected length of your meeting and each items allocation of time must
be shown on the agenda.
44 It is usual to number each item on the agenda and for the Chair to formally
introduce every one.
44 Aim to make your agenda as informative as practical; it should encourage
participants to turn up and play as full a role as possible.

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What Should an Agenda Item Look Like?

Each of your agenda items should have the following characteristics:

Number &
start time

An Agenda

Title &

Item number
This allows everyone to refer to that item on the agenda during the meeting.

Start time
This time enables the Chair to control and manage discussion time and to reaffirm the
allocated number of minutes available to discuss this issue. (The start time of the next
agenda item is also the end time of the previous one.) This timeframe helps participants
to self-regulate and use the time more effectively.

Title and sub-title

Each agenda item should be clearly specified and meaningful to the attendees. If an item
has several aspects to be discussed then each of these elements should be listed as sub-
headings, each with its own specified time limit.

This is illustrated by the Croeso Project in the following example.

Items for Discussion

1. 09:30Croeso Project
09:30 Database Update Schedule
09:45 New Staff Contracts
10:00 Review Support Contract

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2. 10:30Break
3. 10:45Disco Project Progress ReportP Khan
4. 11:05Summary
5. 11:15Close

When compiling your agenda there are certain important considerations you must take
into account:

Will everyone who is at the meeting understand what is meant?

Is it clear whether action is required?
Is it specific enough to limit the scope of the discussion?
What outcome are you expecting from this agenda item?
Is it short and simple enough to fit into one or two lines?

In the example above it is clear to all attendees that for Item 3 (The Disco Project) P.
Kahn will lead the discussion and not the Chair as with all the other items on this agenda.
If this individual is unknown to attendees then a short resume of their expertise should
be included with the necessary background information.

Scheduling Meeting Breaks

If your meeting needs to exceed 45 minutes, it is advisable to include breaks in your
agenda to ensure that participant concentration is maintained. It also refocuses the
mind-set of the attendees to the current item in a more positive and productive manner
than before the break.

Scheduled breaks offer:

The opportunity for everyone to refocus

on next item

The chance for small numbers to reaffirm

position in light of discussions privately

The Chair the opportunity to informally

discuss an opinion with attendee

Extra time to allow for further

discussions of certain items if necessary

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There are also some less obvious benefits of including breaks in your agenda. For exam-
ple, they offer a small number of individuals the opportunity to chat through and reaffirm
their standpoint on an issue, as prior discussions may have highlighted a new or differ-
ent perspective that they had not assessed the implications of. This can avoid tensions
arising, because no one feels comfortable having these conversations as part of the main
body of the meeting.

This ability to seek clarification is also offered to the Chair who can use scheduled breaks
to informally discuss any issue that may be contentious and assess how best to handle
the next item in order to arrive at an informed decision.

Your Chair also has the ability to use the scheduled breaks to accommodate extensions
of certain discussions. This will enable the meeting to arrive at more informed decisions.

Key Points
44 An Item number allows everyone to refer to that item on the agenda during
the meeting.
44 Specifying timings will help the Chair manage and the participants self-regu-
late the time used for the discussion.
44 Adding one or more sub-titles to a main title can help to limit the scope of the
44 The agenda should make clear who is responsible for leading the discussion
or presenting new material for each agenda item.
44 Meeting breaks enable participants to return to the business in hand with a
more positive and productive mind-set.
44 They can provide the Chair with useful buffer zones, which can be used to
extend or shorten a meeting should circumstances require it.

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Agendas for Short Meetings

All meetings should have an agenda, even if it just an objective and a list of items to
discuss. You may find yourself in the situation where you need to call a meeting at very
short notice to discuss one or two items with a couple of other colleagues.

The temptation is to treat this short meeting as a chat or exchange of ideas and not both-
er to have an agenda. Your reasoning may be that it will take longer to sort the agenda
out than it will to just have the meeting, as itll only take five minutes.

Short / Ad hoc Meetings

No Agenda With Agenda

Lack of
direction, Pressure to Focus & Informed Productive
time to
time just agree structure decisions use of time

In reality, producing an agenda for this type of meeting would only take you a few min-
utes and can quickly and efficiently be sent by email or text to the other attendees. By
taking these few minutes to prepare properly you will avoid others coming to your meet-
ing unprepared and wasting everyone elses time whilst they scratch around trying to pull
together key facts and figures.

There is a general expectation that meetings should last about thirty minutes or more,
so people will often talk for at least that long, or longer, even if a substantive agreement
was reached in the first ten minutes. This is because even when a ten-minute debate
achieves the meetings purpose, peoples expectations are that they will not be able to
start their next task for another twenty minutes, so they fill the time allocation discuss-
ing topics beyond the original objective, or are happy to use the time in social chit-chat.

If you are asked to attend an ad hoc meeting, always request an agenda. Attending a
meeting without an agenda could leave you vulnerable to being bounced into agreeing
to something as opposed to preparing properly and making an informed decision.

As a manager, you have a team of technical experts who advise and inform you of impli-
cations and dependencies that relate to their area of expertise. Without the opportunity

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Setting an Agenda

to consult with them prior to the meeting you could find that the time and resources that
you have allocated to solving a problem are completely impractical.

For example, you could be asked:

Can one of your guys take responsibility for migrating the sales database by
Monday week? Its only a ten-minute job.

If you agree to requests such as these it could have unknown and serious implications
on your other projects, as your technical team member has the up-to-date knowledge of
what is actually involved regarding the technical skills needed, the timeframe required,
potential risks, and implications such a request would involve. Some of these may be
unavoidable but with preparation you would not get any nasty surprises.

Key Points
44 Even short ad hoc meetings benefit from an agenda as it gives a meeting pur-
pose and focus.
44 Discussions will fill the time the meeting is expected to take.
44 Attending a meeting without an agenda could leave you vulnerable to agree-
ing to something that you later regret.

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An agenda is essential if you want your meetings to be successful. Creating an agenda
forces you to consider why you are having a meeting and if it is the best way to achieve
your purpose. It makes you reflect on what you want to accomplish and who needs to at-
tend for this to be attained. Finally, it gives you an indication of how long each discussion
needs to take for an informed decision to be reached.

By having an agenda it is much easier for you to keep a record of what decisions were
made at the meeting and what actions resulted from these, as well as which ones are the
most important for you to follow up. It presents you with a logical sequence of how deci-
sions were arrived at and offers you a way of measuring the meetings success.

By using an Agenda you demonstrate your:

Effective use Logical

Own Expectations Desire to
of time & approach to
standards of others succeed
people issues

By following the process of creating an agenda you have also maximized the contribu-
tions of your attendees because you gave them sufficient time to prepare any informa-
tion or documentation required. It enables teams to send one well-informed representa-
tive rather than several individuals who each have very specific areas of knowledge. This
ensures productive use of teams resources.

Your agenda also sets your attendees expectations of how long your meeting will be,
and any necessary data provided as part of these proceedings provides a common
knowledge-base for all attendees. In creating an agenda you had arranged the items
logically so that each issue was discussed once, avoiding the trap of repeatedly covering
the same ground.

By following such standards in preparing for your meetings you will illustrate your pro-
fessionalism and demonstrate to colleagues and third parties that you desire others to
conduct themselves in a similar manner too.

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Setting an Agenda

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