Like most things in business and life that start with a well thought out plan, a good meeting starts with a good agenda.

An agenda is the roadmap for a meeting and it helps keep all attendees focused on the topics at hand.

Follow the tips below and you will find your meetings are much more structured and efficient.

• The specific goal or objective for the meeting should be clearly defined on the agenda. For example the meeting could be a project status meeting, a building permits review meeting, a sales tracking meeting, a software design meeting.
• All topics for discussion should be listed with a concise, (one sentence), description. Each listed item for discussion should include the name of the person who will lead that particular discussion.
• You should specify the alloted time for each topic. If the discussion goes too far beyond this time it should be tabled and a seperate meeting established to discuss that item in detail.
• An agenda should also include time at the end of the final topic to allow for recap, review and the planning of next steps.
• Don't always assume an hour is sufficient. It may be that 30 minutes is adequate or perhaps a 2-3 hour meeting is needed.
• In the event a meeting will require more than 90 minutes it may be good to schedule a 5-10 minute break around the mid point of the meeting. Make this break part of the agenda. It is quite disruptive to have people get up and leave a meeting if they need a short break.
• Try to keep the agenda to one page in length.
• At the bottom of the agenda list any supoprting items or documents that attendees should bring with them.
• Distribute the meeting agenda at least one full day in advance of the meeting. If possible try to send it even earlier, but do have copies available at the start of the meeting.