Projects run on meetings: team check ins, partner meetings, community durbars, donor visits. Badly run meetings waste everyone's time and end with nobody sure what was decided. Assistants are very often the person asked to arrange meetings and take minutes, so doing it well is a quick way to stand out.
Before the meeting
- Purpose. Know why the meeting is happening. If an update could be shared in a message, it may not need a meeting.
- Agenda. A short list of topics, with a rough time for each and who leads it. Share it a day or two ahead so people come prepared.
- People. Invite those who need to decide or contribute, not everyone.
- Logistics. Venue or call link, time, refreshments if needed, and any documents people should read.
During the meeting
- Start on time, and end on time.
- Follow the agenda; park off topic points for later.
- For each topic, make sure the meeting ends with a decision or an action.
- An action point always has three parts: what will be done, who will do it, and .