Meeting Agenda: 7 Tips to Write an Effective Meeting Agenda

A meeting agenda is an outline or plan for a meeting that includes the objective or goals, discussion topics, and action items. Sharing information in the agenda with the meeting participants beforehand aligns expectations and allows team members to prepare. The meeting leader uses the agenda to keep the meeting on track.

An effective agenda results in more productive meetings. Creating an agenda for staff meetings can help you:

1. 1. Accomplish goals: For formal meetings, like a project kickoff meeting, setting objectives helps stakeholders align on expectations. This focuses everyone on a single purpose and ensures everyone it’s a worthwhile use of their time.
2. 2. Get feedback: Sharing the discussion points with team members beforehand allows your collaborators to prepare their thoughts so they can speak up in the meeting. You can also ask team members for suggestions of topics to add to the agenda.
3. 3. Keeps meetings on track: Establishing an outline of the meeting reduces the chance of getting sidetracked and allows you to focus on the agenda items and goal of the meeting.

Whether you’re planning a one-off, follow-up, or recurring meeting, creating an agenda helps gives your meeting structure, allowing team members to collaborate and focus on decision-making in the designated time frame. Here are tips for creating an effective meeting agenda:

1. 1. Establish the goals and objectives: The first step is to establish the purpose of the team meeting. Determine the primary objective or what you want to accomplish and write it out. Put the goal of the meeting at the top of the meeting agenda.
2. 2. Write a rough outline of the meeting: Use simple headlines to sketch out the various agenda topics you want to cover. Your first headline might be a status update on new business, a check-in on a previous meeting, or an open forum for ideas for a specific initiative. Build in time for your colleagues to ask questions near the end.
3. 3. Add specifics: Now, add more detail beneath each major section of the meeting. Include talking points and activities, such as a real-time brainstorming session around a specific project or a discussion about how to improve a workflow.
4. 4. Determine the amount of time needed: Now that you have an idea of what you need to accomplish during the meeting, determine the estimated time required. Write a suggested amount of time beside each major heading in the meeting and an overall length for the meeting at the top of the team meeting agenda.
5. 5. Send it to your team for review: Send a draft of your meeting template to your team or board members so they can make suggestions or add discussion items. This also helps them understand the purpose of the meeting beforehand and sets clear expectations for what you want to accomplish.
6. 6. Designate a note-taker: Before the meeting starts, choose someone to take meeting notes. Good meeting minutes give all attendees the key points from the meeting, action items, and next steps for future reference after the meeting’s adjournment. Any type of meeting—no matter how structured or free-flowing—can benefit from a designated note-taker who is writing the meeting minutes.
7. 7. Schedule the meeting: Send a calendar invite with the meeting time along with the meeting agenda so the entire team knows when the meeting is and understands the meeting objectives.

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