It feels like I’m on dozens of committees these days, and many have finally gotten with the program and are emailing the agendas prior to the meeting. Here are some suggestions for formatting an agenda to actually include ALL the relevant information and to encourage the meeting to move along.

The subject line

  1. The subject link should include the name of the committee meeting - not “hi” or simply “meeting”. Give me some clues as I scan my inbox: Marketing Committee.
  2. Equally as helpful would be the date and time of the upcoming meeting, and since my committees last for years, include the date for archival purposes: Marketing Committee - Mar. 3, 2007, 10 a.m..
  3. Really impress your friends and include the location in the subject line as well. It may get truncated, depending on the individual’s program, but it may not: Marketing Committee - Mar. 3, 2007, 10 a.m. - Conference Rm. 207

The body of the message

This formatting should be pretty easy to just type up, but you can make a template in your email program (heck, even a word processor).

  1. The Name of the Committee - it is in the subject line, but it is helpful to repeat this information.
  2. The Date and Time of the Meeting
  3. The Location
  4. A list of agenda items - numbered or not, bulleted or not, just give me a list of what we are covering.
  5. If you want me to bring any materials to the meeting, such a progress report, note it in the agenda. Some of these tasks take a bit of time to review
  6. Really impress people and give an estimated time for each item. While it doesn’t have to be written in stone, this kind of time keeping moves a meeting along and helps discourage the ramblers. It gives attendees a rough estimate of how long the meeting will run, and the person writing the agenda can see if the material can be covered in a reasonable amount of time.

Example

Marketing Committee Meeting
Mar. 3, 2007 - 10:00 a.m.
Conference Rm. 207

Agenda

  1. Status on new tv ads - Paul (10 mins)
  2. Use of podcasting in name recognition efforts - John & Yoko (20 mins)
  3. Upcoming luncheon - George (5 mins)
  4. Budget reports (reports attached to email) - Ringo (15 mins)
  5. New business (10 mins)

Don’t’s

  • Don’t assume that because we have the meeting at the same time and location every month that it is on my calendar. It may not have gotten added. It may have gotten deleted during a calendar sync. Or a time/location change may have taken place.
  • Don’t assume yours is the only meeting I have that day. Unless you indicate otherwise, most attendees expect a meeting to take an hour or less.
  • Don’t schedule a meeting during the lunch hour unless you are providing food