According to my past experience, I found that many person did not know
how to host au meeting. I mean the situation that you are the
chairperson of the coming meeting. Basically, I think the primary thing
to do before meeting is that what the targat of the meeting you are
supposed to hold.
As the chairperson, you should be clear about the purposes to host the
meeting, which is the start point of the meeting and help you involve
in right person. Then, you could figure out a agenda accordingly.
Listing topics needed to be discussed in meeting in agenda is helpful
to control meeting. You must aware that your purposes will be achieved
by going through one topics and working out resutl.with all attendees.
Failed Reasons of meeting:
There are so many failed reasons for one meeting. I find that many failed meetings were because of some little mistakes:
1. Forgetting to inform attendees the meeting time via Email with
reminding action, location of the meeting. Sometimes, we always assume
every attendees regard the meeting so important as you think and will
attend on time. Acutally, that's your personal standpoint. Maybe your
meeting is the lower priority for some guys in his rountine task list
though the meeting is the hifhest prriority in your tasks list. So,
it's better to inform all attendees via Email with reminding fuction as
the Meeting Request function in Outlook.
2. No location information in meeting request. Location is also the
mostf important information. I am sure most of person have the
experience that some one could not find you even though meeting was
already started.
3. Meeting time: I have made the mistake because I schedule a meeting
at the time I am not supposed to do. The result was that no one
attended the meeting except me.
4. Projector: A presentation will help every attendee know your idea
clearly and quickly as well as saving time. However, you'd better check
whether there is projector in meeting room. Image what will happen if a
soldier have enough bullets but forget to take gun with him. I think
the only thing he can do is to throw bullets to enemy and beg for god
hopefully.
5. Meeting minutes: Meeting minutes is the workout of the meeting anfd
in which all of topics discussed should be recorded. For each topics,
action plan should be included. It's better forward meeting minutes to
all of meeting attendees and let them feed back according to see
whether anything is missed in meeting minutes. Do remember add
following information in your meeting minutes:
If anything missed please let me know. This is helpful to avoid argument as a evidence.
Thanks! But actually I get to know all of what you advise, but in the actual meeting , I always forgot some of them. So I'd like to have a assistant to help me make the records and remind me the meeting schedule. And then ask every attendee sign his name, then scan the record and send it to them. Don't forget to backup one for reminding. If anyone don't remember and agree the conclusion of the meeting and refuse to perform as the conclusion, you can ask him to review the scan document of the meeting record.
There is a dedicated role to own the meeting minutes and often is the responsibility of Project manager who reports to Program manager. Actually, project manager are recording meeting minutes in meeting and summarize them at the end of meeting to clarify the content to attendees. The meeting minutes is following the content of meeting agenda distributed to invited attendees before meeting. I don't think the activity will cost of more time.
thank you for your share. don't forget to define the responsible person and deadline for each action in the meeting minutes, otherwise, the open point may be still open after the meeting.