TUGAS 3 : ESTABLISHING THE PURPOSE OF A MEETING

According to Scott Snair, author of "Stop the Meeting I Want to Get Off," a large percentage of office meetings are unproductive and unfocused because of the lack of thought that goes into preparing their agendas. Whether your own conferences are routinely conducted out of habit or cobbled together in response to emerging crises, establishing a meeting agenda will pay off in greater efficiency and higher morale.

1. Define the objective of your meeting to determine whether it is time-sensitive and really necessary. Examples of meeting objectives include reporting on project status, brainstorming new ideas and solutions to existing problems, managing damage control, introducing new policies, making task assignments and holding administrative hearings related to disciplinary actions. Create an outline and give each topic a title followed by a short summary. Example: Going Paperless -- identifying transitional goals, security concerns and staff training.

2. Identify by name the individuals who have something of substance to contribute to your agenda topics so they will understand what is expected of them. For a project status report, for instance, you likely need only the project manager as spokesperson and not every member of her team. If the purpose of the meeting is to brainstorm ideas for a new policy, your meeting participants would be those who best represent the interests and sentiments of the specific job classifications or departments that will be affected.

3. Determine the amount of time needed to address each of the topics on your list. Status updates, for example, could require only 10 minutes for each participant, especially if your meetings occur on a weekly or monthly basis and everyone is already familiar with the basics of the various projects. Put your highest priority topics first on the agenda in the event that discussions run over your allocated time slots and the meeting has to be continued at a later time or date. Where practical, include an "other business" slot at the end of your agenda for anything participants would like to discuss that doesn't fit the existing topic categories.

4. Decide whether supplemental materials for your meeting should be distributed and read prior to the meeting or handed out upon everyone's arrival. Reference these items in the agenda so participants will understand their relevance to the topics under discussion.

5. Set a date, time and location for your meeting, and place this information prominently at the top of the meeting agenda. Distribute your agenda far enough in advance that participants have time to prepare but not so far that they will set it aside and forget about it. If appropriate, send out reminders the day before.