Meeting Tips

About a week before the meeting

Facilitator:

• Make sure you will be able to attend. If not, find someone to facilitate for you.
• Read the agenda and the minutes from the previous meeting. (If the minutes can't be found, find out who took them and ask them to post the minutes.)
• Read any followup messages on the email list
• Post a message on the list calling for agenda items. Include:
  • the date and time of meeting,
  • who is scribe and facilitator,
  • any agenda items you already know about

Scribe:

• Make sure you will be able to attend. If not, find someone to scribe for you.

The day before the meeting

Facilitator:

• Create the agenda. (Assemble all agenda items. Organize them into a final agenda, grouping related items together and plugging into the general template):
  • Review the previous meeting's notes
  • Review which meetings happened that are likely to report
  • Review the agenda
  • Review other relevant things, like the RT queue, email posts, and the wiki
• Line up presenters for anything on the agenda that seems like a major topic. These people should be prepared to introduce the topic and answer questions about it.

Before the meeting

Facilitator:

• Incorporate any last minute items onto the agenda.
• Print out copies of the agenda. Usually three copies:
  • one for the scribe,
  • one for yourself,
  • one to share with the group.

Scribe:

• Get a laptop or a paper and pen/pencil for taking notes
• Get a copy of the agenda from the facilitator

The Meeting

Once you know the tips, you may want to use the empty Meeting Template page as a start.

Call the meeting to order

Facilitator:

• Make sure there's a scribe taking attendance and ready to take notes
• Is everyone OK with the agenda? Any items missing?

Scribe:

• Record the name of the meeting and the date
• List everyone in attendance (for some meetings also list if they were late). Ask for people's names if you don't know them.

Check in

Facilitator:

• Ask how everyone's doing.
• Get quick introductions from everyone. (At least get everyone's name. This helps the scribe take attendance.)

Scribe:

• Write down who's there. (Come back to this section and add people's names as they arrive.)

Committments from Previous Meeting

Facilitator:

• Go through each item and ask for a brief report.
  • If committments pertain to regular agenda items, ask that discussion be put off until that item's time.

Scribe:

• Record the status of each item
  • Did it change owners?
  • Is it finished?
  • Is it a carryover? (If so, re-enter in the Future Committments section.)

Reports from Other Meeting

Facilitator:

• Go through each report and ask for a brief report.
  • If committments pertain to regular agenda items, ask that discussion be put off until that item's time.
  • If issues come up that aren't on the agenda, add a new item to New Business section.

Scribe:

• Record links to online minutes.
• Record questions and answers.

Old Business

Facilitator:

• Ask the presenter to present the topic.
• Ask for questions to clarify the issue.
• Is there any discussion?
• Are we ready for a formal proposal?
• If not:
  • Does there need to be any action?
  • Does a smaller group need to hammer out a proposal?
  • Can it be done on and email list and/or wiki?
• If we are ready for a proposal try to guide discussion towards making one.
• For each proposal:
  • Does everyone understand it?
  • What concerns do people have? How can it be changed to deal with those concerns?
  • If there appears to be agreement, make sure the proposal is in writing by asking the scribe to read it back. (This ensures that everyone is agreeing to the same thing.)
  • Ask one last for any remaining concerns.
  • If there are none, state that we've reached a decision and have the scribe record it.
  • If there are concerns:
    • Can it be hammered out in a smaller group and decided at next meeting?
    • Are there alternate proposals to consider?
    • If there are concerns that cannot be address (for instance, if the decision cannot be put off) ask if anyone is blocking the decision.

Scribe:

• Record item names
  • Key points from discussion
  • Proposals (at least loose wording)
  • Decisions -- Mark them clearly as decisions. Make sure the wording is accurate. Read them to the group if there is any doubt. (This may seem like a waste of time, but it clarifies what decisions have been made, and therefore saves time in the long run.)

New Business

Facilitator:

• (Same points at Old Business)

Scribe:

• (Same points at Old Business)

Future Committments

Scribe:

• Record the item, its owner, and a time frame.

Next Meeting

Scribe:

• Record the name of the next scribe.
• Record the name of the next facilitator.
• Record any reporters (i.e. to Council Meeting or Staff Meeting).
• Record next time and place of meeting.
• Record any unfinished business for the next facilitator to include in the meeting.

After the Meeting

Scribe:

• Post the minutes to the list.
  • Explicitly ask if anyone who was there has additions or clarifications.
  • Explicitly ask if anyone who wasn't there has any questions.

See also:

• Example Meeting Minutes
• Example Agenda
• Meeting Template (Useful for making agendas.)