Project Communication and Documentation 213- Determine appropriate meeting duration.
- Invite the right individuals (the minimum required to
accomplish objective). - Tell participants how they need to prepare for the meeting.
- Notify participants in time to prepare; distribute the neces-
sary materials.
(B) Personally and visibly kick off the meeting.
- State the purpose of the meeting.
- Review the background, if necessary.
- Announce the specific topics or problems to be discussed.
- Make sure everyone fully understands the topics or prob-
lems.
(C) Ensure attention and participation.
- Encourage participation; allow everyone to contribute.
- Control discussion; drive out hostility; prevent monopo-
lization by one person. - Keep the discussion relevant to the meeting purpose!
- Keep things moving forward!
- Ensure that participants are fully understanding what’s
going on.
(D) Close the meeting.
- Stick to the allotted time!
- Summarize by emphasizing what’s been accomplished.
- Drive to development of an action plan if future work is
needed. - Clearly indicate follow-up action required; obtain commit-
ment as needed.
(E) Perform necessary follow-up.
- Prepare and distribute a record of conclusions or recom-
mendations. - Do not tell a story of everything that happened in the
meeting; be concise.
If you follow these suggestions, people will be more likely to
attend your meetings. If people begin skipping meetings—par-