Business meetings

Depending on the purpose or the objective of the meeting, the content of the structure should be planned, but there are some aspects that should be thought beforehand. In other words, you should prepare all the important aspects and be prepared to present them. It is important to consider the following:

• Make sure that action items or tasks assigned in the previous meeting are reviewed. Track the progress.

• Set deadlines and discuss the status of the projects.

​2. Previous meeting follow-up

• Focus on the purpose.

• Set the expectations for what will be discuss.

1. Agenda review

• All members of a meeting must be free to speak, but they must have knowledge about the topic.

• Establish decision-making.

• Future planning.

• Feedback on tasks.

• Monitoring plan.

• Time management and conclusion.

• Setting a date for the next meeting.

​4. Collaborative problem-solving

• Critical issues.

• Issues which involve immediate attention.

• Project updates.

• New initiatives.

3. Main discussion topics

Evaluating what makes a successful meeting

• It is often thought that the meeting ends once agreements have been reached. This idea is erroneous since there are other actions that must be carried out after the meeting, for example:

  • Periodically evaluating the success of the meetings for continuous improvement of communication, collaboration and overall team effectiveness.

  • Adjusting meeting strategies based on feedback and evolving organizational needs.

• Some tools that can be used to track and evaluate a meeting:

• A document which reflects the topics discussed and agreed upon during the meeting.

• They are usually drafted at the end of the meeting.

​2. Summary minutes

• A document containing a series of questions about various aspects of the meeting.

• A valuable tool to analyze whether an event has been carried out efficiently, and to correct possible errors.

1. Evaluation questionnarie

• Keeps the list of agreements reached at the meeting.

• Requires the personnel to provide information on the scope of the agreements.

• Informs the status of the agreements.

​4. Follow-up of agreements

• A document which summarizes the meeting.

• It is used to obtain new conclusions or for more information.

• It reflects the problems and how they have been solved.

3. Report

Conclusions

• All meetings must follow similar guidelines for their correct and necessary organization: planning, preparation, development, control and evaluation.

• Those responsible will be in charge of organizing them according to the guidelines set by the director or manager of the company.

• The moderator must comply with the items on the agenda, using techniques for the achievement of the objectives and the satisfaction of the attendees.