FAQ Topic: Meet with Purpose

The Project Manager, or other designated role, should send a follow up email within 24 hours of the meeting recapping action items from the meeting and next steps.

Every meeting should end with clear actions with well-defined responsibilities. Spend the last 5-10 minutes of the meeting discussing action items.

Begin meetings promptly. Everyone’s time is precious, respect attendees’ time and keep meetings to the agreed upon timeline. It’s easy to digress, make sure the group gets back on task when the conversation strays off topic.

Meetings need structure. Spend a few minutes putting together an agenda for your meeting. Send out the agenda prior to the meeting and include it in the invite.

Keep your calendar up to date! (Consider blocking out time on either side of meeting for travel and sanity.) Use Outlook Calendar invitations to schedule your meetings Include information about the purpose of the meeting and proposed agenda in the body of the invite. Identify in the Outlook invite who is a required attendee and … Continued

Define the purpose of your meeting. In order that everyone’s time is respected, narrow the focus to allow for tangible outcomes. What do you hope to get out of this meeting?

Consider the use of everyone’s time. Can the team communicate/collaborate via email, phone conference, or other tools to move the project forward at this time?