People have been complaining about meetings since the dawn of the corporate world, which means many people also take issue with the “extra work” it takes to create meeting agendas.
Though it seems like creating agendas makes extra work, going into meetings without a game plan is what actually creates extra work due to disorganization and redundant communication. Sharing a simple agenda with the team before a meeting can make a world of difference! Keep reading to learn more.
Why Meeting Agendas Are So Useful
While it’s true that you might need to spend an additional few minutes outlining the crucial topics your team needs to discuss, those extra minutes you spend on an agenda will bring you more benefits than if you had skipped the process altogether. Let’s take a look at some of these benefits.
More Efficient Meetings
Having an agenda means having structure — you know what needs to be discussed, and so does everyone else on the call. This lets you get straight to the point and start ticking items off one by one.
This will make your meetings more efficient, as you won’t have to waste time explaining to everyone why you organized the meeting and what points you want to cover. If you already sent attendees an agenda, they should be ready to go as soon as they sign on!
Helps Avoid Unnecessary Meetings
If you start writing an agenda and you can’t come up with more than one or two topics, then that’s a sign it might be better to write an e-mail instead. We’ve all been to a meeting where it seems like everyone is talking for the sake of talking, and it can be frustrating having to sit there instead of doing something more productive.
Utilizing agendas helps you avoid unnecessary meetings, and they also reduce redundancy in meetings since participants can check old agendas and notes if they need a refresher on a certain topic.
Ensures Participants Remain Focused
Having a clear agenda ensures that everyone in the meeting is discussing only what’s necessary and that they remain focused until the end. If you don’t have an agenda going into a meeting, there’s no way to gauge when it’s over. A 10-minute check-in could turn into a 45-minute tangent in no time.
In Conclusion
Overall, agendas should help you reduce the amount of work you have to do by eliminating repetitive conversations and allowing you to stay organized. Creating agendas becomes second nature when you use tools like Docket that let you store agenda templates, organize meeting notes, and share documents with your team members in just a few clicks.
