Managing meetings

Manage your meeting time well by setting and keeping to an agenda.

Meetings can be one of the most time-consuming aspects of group assignments, but they’re an important part of working as a group. There are a few simple things you can do to help your meeting run smoothly and efficiently.

Set an agenda

All meetings should have agendas. Meeting agendas help you avoid wasting time by giving you an outline of what you're going to talk about, and an idea about how long the meeting should take.

Take a look at a sample meeting agenda.

Arrive early

Aim to arrive about five minutes before the meeting is due to start so that the meeting can begin on time. It’s also a good opportunity to make sure that the room is ready and that you have everything you need.

Allow enough time

Allow enough time to cover each point on your agenda.

Group discussions and team feedback can take a lot of time. If a point on the agenda needs to be discussed or needs feedback from other members of the group, then leave more time than you think you’ll need.

Set a start and finish time

Set a start and finish time for the meeting and keep to your proposed times. This may mean reducing discussion time.

Shorter meetings are more efficient. In a meeting that runs for more than two hours you’re more likely to discuss the same points repeatedly than generate any new ideas.

If you get through the agenda more quickly than you expected, finish your meeting early and enjoy the extra time.

Assign roles

Nominate a timekeeper and a minute-taker. These roles can stay the same throughout the group assignment or change every meeting.

The timekeeper should make sure that you don’t go over time on agenda items, and the minute-taker should keep a record of:

• who came
• what was discussed
• the outcomes and action points.