Writing an Agenda: How to Write an Effective Meeting Agenda

Unproductive meetings are much more than unresolved issues. Additionally, every participant lost valuable working hours and concentration and, maybe, got bored.

Getting back to work after an hour of sitting in a meeting room without any resolution is hard. But what leads to staff meeting failure, and what is necessary to ensure productive outcomes?

If there's one thing that's crucial for successful meetings, it's preparation, and a big part of that is writing a perfect meeting agenda. When leading a meeting, you might be responsible for managing a large number of team members and project tasks. An effective agenda can help you make sure you discuss all the necessary material, keep the meeting on topic and ensure that your group uses time efficiently. 

What is a meeting agenda?

It might seem a little basic, but before we write a meeting agenda, we need to get our definition in place. In its simplest form, your meeting agenda format is a list of topics to address during a meeting.

It lets everybody know the schedule of the meeting, including times, topics, and any special roles that you want your participants to play. Hand out your agenda to every attendee in advance, and you're ready for a productive meeting.

How to Write a Meeting Agenda?

To understand where you should start writing a meeting agenda, it's important to know where not to write it. Keep your pad of paper and pencils in your 1990s filing cabinet; they're of no use to you here.

Aside from possibly losing your notebook and having to decipher your own scrawl, the main problem with this old-fashioned technique is that it's a nightmare for teamwork. Even printed-out sheets have a very avoidable environmental impact.

Collaborative documents allow you to share your meeting agenda with your team members, which they can always access on their own Drive or via email. You can open up your document and work on it with others or keep editing rights for yourself.

Keep a record of every meeting in the same document. This leaves you with one go-to place where you can consult all past meetings and easily find notes for the next meetings.

How can I save time when writing an effective meeting agenda?

We're sure you're always looking for ways to cut down on admin tasks, and there's no reason you should make an exception for your meetings. After your first session, use your document as a meeting agenda template and tweak details rather than starting all over again.

If your meetings are recurring, say on a weekly basis, you can also save time there. Make a recurring meeting on your calendar and send out repeating invitations to all your attendees so you don't have to waste time on little admin tasks. This way, you will be able to present a comprehensive agenda.

However, it's not always that easy. You might need to plan each meeting objective carefully, for example, when you are holding shareholder meetings. In this case, you can create a project management workflow that you can follow from start to finish and avoid missing out on important parts.

By using these time-saving measures, you free up more time for where you should be spending your time — making a great agenda for a great meeting.

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Set out your goals

Every meeting needs at least one goal — if not, why would you have one? So before you send out invites or worry about the intricate details, make a list of your goals.

Feel free to pass this around other stakeholders to allow them to add goals you might not have thought about. This list will become your reference point as you complete the subsequent tasks for your meeting agenda.

It's important to make your objectives clear and precise to avoid drifting off-topic or simply biting off more than you can chew. For example, rather than having a meeting to plan your social media content for a year, go for one month and point out the right kind of posts to stick with throughout the year.

Plan how to take notes throughout the team meeting

It's an easy area to forget when planning a meeting, but assigning a note taker is an essential task.

But what many meeting agenda examples don't include is that instead of just typing notes down on a shared document, you can put them straight into your project management software. You'll quickly see this laser-focuses your subsequent steps — rather than having ambiguous goals; you can pinpoint tasks, responsible people, subtasks, and times.

Focus on following the planned durations

Speaking of times, when deciding to start writing an effective meeting agenda, don't forget about strict timings. Unfortunately, each of your attendees will have other priorities, and if you frequently overrun your meetings, people will be reluctant to accept in the future.

For your first time, you will have to take an educated guess at how long each topic will take, but when it comes to the meeting itself, you can start getting data involved. Get ready with a time management tool, and keep a record of how long each section takes. If you are likely to repeat the same session, you'll have a record of how long each part takes and be able to put reliable times to your meeting agenda outline.

Once you've set your times, it's important to stick to them. If you feel like topics need more work, put a task in your project management system to spend more time focused just on that topic.

Leave time to review your meeting

Be sure that your final agenda allows for five minutes or so at the end of the meeting to review what has been discussed, what decisions have been made, and what the next steps are to take. Of course, you don't need to rely on your memory for this — your note taker will have a summary, and you can check your project management tools for tasks that have been assigned based on the meeting.

This is also the perfect time to open up the floor for people to say what went well and what needs improvement. And why not start planning your next one now? As you hear suggestions, note them down on your on-going document and you won't have to remember them when you're back to the drawing board.

Start planning your meetings like a pro

Now you know how to write a perfect meeting agenda, it's time for you to adapt our advice to your business. One important tip we would give is to have the right software in place.

Whether you're a remote team and hold virtual meetings or an office-based team that you meet up with face to face, an easy-to-use suite of tools can make your meeting planning so much easier. From shared documents and internal emails to project management and time-tracking software, it is like having a team of assistants for all areas of your business.

A high-quality CRM system will help you to schedule meetings and ensure that every participant receives the invitation. All-in-one tools like Bitrix24 help you with taking notes, and an AI assistant will create a summary of discussed agenda items. Additionally, you can collect feedback from the participants and create agenda templates within the software.

Team meeting agenda examples

We have additionally prepared a list of the most common meeting agendas. This list will help you not only clearly outline the meeting objectives and set clear expectations for the participants but also create a clearly structured agenda.

Project kickoff meeting agenda

A project kickoff meeting is all about a new project. There, everyone is introduced to their team members and stakeholders, including any involved client representatives.

Project kickoff meeting agenda items include all the main project parts: outlining goals, roles and responsibilities, expected outcomes, and deadlines. THis is were the entire tone for the new project is set.

Here's what to focus on when compelling a project kickoff meeting agenda:

• Clearly delivered information on the deadlines and main project deliverables, including necessities for clients along the way.

• Make sure every team member is introduced, including their role. This is a crucial part, especially if some participants have never worked together before.

• During meeting preparation, make sure there is enough time for any possible questions and necessary explanations.

Retrospective meeting agenda

The next meeting agenda to learn is the retrospective meetings that are held at the end of the project. The agenda topics include everything that has been done right, as well as all issues that occurred while working on the project.

The goal of this tea meeting is to gain valuable insights that can be used as learning material when starting future projects.

Tips for creating team meeting agenda template

Here's what to consider when preparing for a retrospective meetings:

• Create a space that encourages participants to provide honest feedback. Make sure that everyone feels safe to admit any issues that occur without participants judging one another.

• The meeting should have a positive ending, encouraging further collaboration with a focus on learned skills.

• Choose a meeting date close to the project's completion. This will ensure team members still remember important details.

Team meeting agenda

Team meetings are a recurring event scheduled weekly or even more often and include the entire team or department. The team meeting agenda can focus on many different things, like monitoring the team's progress, addressing issues that occur, and introducing new team members.

Virtual team meetings play an even bigger role if the project team works remotely. They not only improve relationships and promote connection but are also used for team-building activities.

Tips for creating team meeting agenda template

Here is what to keep in mind when creating a team meeting agenda:

• Give personal time for every participant to have more productive meeting results. This way, everyone will feel validated and will have a chance to share their concerns and improve participation rates.

• In case the team meeting agenda can be productively discussed in emails or a group chat, choose this option. There is no need to gather the entire team just for a more personal conversation.

• Discuss agenda items every participant is aware of. Do not take time off your entire team to discuss matters related to only a couple of people.

Board meeting agenda

A board meeting, or a leadership meeting, includes senior managers, board members and executives, and everyone else who makes decisions that impact the entire organization. Such formal meetings are focused on large-scale goals and decisions, including cross-department collaborations, financing, and resource allocation processes.

Tips for creating team meeting agenda template

When preparing for the next board meeting, keep the following tips in mind:

• Every agenda item must be based on the actual relevant data. Focus on the numbers and not personal opinions.

• The meeting organizer should start the executive session by presenting the current status of agenda items discussed during the previous meeting.

• Provide time for open discussion to foster enhanced resolutions.

One-on-one meeting agenda

If you want to schedule a conversation that includes only two participants, a one-on-one meeting is your option. Such meetings help to create a dedicated room to discuss ongoing project objectives, provide and collect feedback, improve relationships, and work on issues that have occurred.

A one-on-one meeting might include various meeting participants: client meetings, managers - parolees, between team members, etc.

Tips for creating team meeting agenda template

Here's a list of tips to create a well-written agenda for such meetings:

• Do not follow the structure to the core. You do need to go over all main talking points; however, let the conversation flow naturally.

• Create a shared document so that both parties can add necessary agenda items during the conversation.

• Start the meeting with a personal topic to improve the general mood and gain trust. Keep a supportive and cheerful atmosphere.

Remote one-on-one meeting agenda

Remote meetings are different from the usual one-on-ones and require some changes in the approach. You need to establish clear communication and ensure that you are following the meeting agenda.

The discussion should revolve around the current concerns and tasks. Remember to check on the participant's well-being and start the conversation with a personal topic to break the ice.

Brainstorming meeting agenda

During brainstorming meetings, you gather team members to work on new ideas or come up with solutions to the issues that occur. Brainstorming sessions are commonly used in the marketing department when they start working on a new campaign or preparing for a product launch.

Tips for creating team meeting agenda template

Here are some tips for brainstorming meetings to ensure everyone is involved and stays focused:

• Add provoking questions that can boost meeting productivity and encourage the flow of ideas.

• Provide an opportunity for everyone to speak. On many occasions, some parties are speaking up more, so you should request attendees to add at least one idea to the list.

• Start the team meeting with the lead, outline the agenda, and speak about previous approaches to start the thought process.

Stand-up meeting agenda

A stand-up or a daily scrum meeting is a quick gathering of team members to discuss daily plans and results of the previous day and synchronize on the project progress to ensure everyone's on the same page. It is usually held on every work day at the same time and takes from 15 to 30 minutes.

Tips for creating team meeting agenda template

If you want to have a productive meeting, remember to do the following:

• If the conversation starts to revolve around solving issues, shit the flow into another direction. Daily team meetings are for quick catch-ups, so it is better to schedule an additional meeting to discuss other agenda items.

• Implement software with task links, like Kanban boards, to update the task statuses and project progress.

• To keep up the fast pace, call out team members' names or use another way of encouragement.