How to Write a Meeting Agenda

Write a concise statement of the meeting’s purpose. Meetings without a clear goal are likely to waste valuable time as participants try to figure out what needs to be discussed. Leave a line after the header, using bold or underlined text to highlight the purpose section with titles like "Objective" or "Purpose," followed by a colon or line break. Then, in a few succinct sentences, clearly outline the discussion topics. Keep it between 1-4 sentences.

• For example, if writing a purpose statement for a budget meeting, you could write: "Objective: Outline the key budget goals for the 2017-2018 fiscal year and discuss long-term cost-cutting methods. Additionally, Research & Development Director Mr. Nguyễn Văn A will present recent competitive research findings."
• If you’ve written a scientific paper, think of the purpose statement like a conference abstract or an executive summary. Essentially, you’re providing an overview of what will be discussed in the meeting without delving into details.

Write a schedule, highlighting the key points of the meeting. A schedule helps prevent a common mistake: business meetings often run too long. Leave a line after the purpose statement and use bold or underlined text for the schedule section. Begin typing relevant content for the main discussion points in the schedule. To make it easier to read, each item should be placed on its own line.

• Break down each item by including its start and end times or the estimated duration for each item. Choose one method and remain consistent; mixing both will make your agenda appear unprofessional.

Allocate time for all special guests. If any guests are attending to discuss important topics, you’ll want to give them ample time. Dedicate a separate section of the schedule for each guest, even if they have multiple topics to cover. This way, each person can plan their presentation accordingly.

• It's best to contact the guest beforehand to determine how much time they'll need for their discussion. This helps avoid scheduling conflicts and confusion.

Reserve the end of the meeting for a Q&A session. During this time, attendees can ask questions to clarify any remaining points in the discussion, provide additional suggestions, propose topics for future meetings, or offer other feedback. The Q&A session can be explicitly marked as the final item in the agenda or simply mentioned after the final segment of the meeting.

• If the meeting ends and no one has additional questions or comments, feel free to wrap up early. Many attendees will appreciate this!

Provide an outline of the topics being discussed - optional. Typically, the agenda serves as the framework that guides the discussion. However, while not required, providing a supplementary outline of key points can be incredibly helpful for participants. An outline helps organize ideas presented throughout the meeting and assists everyone in remembering specific topics addressed. Below is an example of how you might arrange an outline (for more details, refer to How to Create an Outline):

• I. Priority Budget Items

  • A. Staff Travel Budget

    B. Agency Fees

    • i. Negotiating better agreements?

    C. Lobbying Expenses

  II. Revenue-Boosting Strategies

  • A. Alternative Service Agreements

    • i. Presenting options to customers

      ii. Collecting feedback

    B. Reinvesting in Mobile Technology

  ...and so on.

Proofread before distributing the conference agenda. Some attendees will rely heavily on this document, so it's wise to read through it, check for errors, and ensure it's polished before sharing. Not only is this a courtesy to your participants, but it also demonstrates your attention to detail and respect for them.

• Additionally, ensuring the agenda is error-free will save you time and protect your reputation.

Utilize available templates in word processing software. Many word processors, such as Microsoft Office, Pages for Mac, and others, offer templates for various personal and professional documents. These templates make drafting professional materials particularly fast and easy. They're often well-organized and aesthetically pleasing. All you need to do is input the relevant information in the appropriate sections, and you're good to go!

• Although word processors differ slightly, most programs with template functionality will allow you to find them through the menu bar at the top of the program window.
• If your word processor can use templates but none are suitable for a meeting agenda, you can download an appropriate one from the software developer's website. For example, Microsoft Word templates can be downloaded from office.microsoft.com, while Pages templates for Mac can be found on the App Store.

You can also download third-party templates. If your word processor doesn't offer any agenda templates, even from the official website, don't worry: there are countless free templates available online. A simple search for "meeting agenda template" on your favorite search engine will bring up dozens of relevant results. However, keep in mind that not all of these results come from official or reliable sources, so it's important to carefully choose a template that suits your needs. Here are a few third-party websites you may want to check out:

• Save Word Templates. This professional site offers numerous high-quality templates for Microsoft Word.
• Word Templates Online. Another good option for Word templates, though the selection is limited.
• iWorkCommunity. A great agenda template for Pages. However, note that this template is for the older version of Pages (pre-'09).
• The App Store also offers many templates for Pages, though not all of them are free.

Fill in the blanks on your template. Once you have found a suitable template in your word processor or downloaded one you like, all you need to do is fill in the required information. Most templates will have clearly marked sections for you to enter the name, time, discussion topics, section titles, and similar details. Make sure to complete all relevant sections to finalize your agenda. After filling in the information, you should carefully proofread for any errors. Although convenient, agenda templates do not automatically correct spelling, grammar, or factual mistakes.

• Don't leave any fields blank. There's nothing more amateur than an agenda with a line that says "Insert content here." If for any reason you don't want to fill in a particular section, make sure to remove that section instead of leaving it empty.

Make small adjustments to tailor the agenda to your needs. While templates are incredibly convenient, there's no reason you must stick rigidly to the format or style they provide. Feel free to modify the content and appearance of the template to meet your industry standards and professional preferences.

• For example, if you like the look of a template but find the header too long and distracting, feel free to shorten it according to your preference, as long as it doesn't disrupt the document's layout or negatively affect the agenda.

Prioritize the most important topics first. When planning a meeting, it's often a good strategy to place the most important topics at the beginning of the agenda. This ensures two things. First, participants will have the opportunity to discuss these key issues while they are still alert and not fatigued. Second, if the meeting needs to end early or someone has to leave before it's over, the important topics will already have been covered.

• Not every meeting goes as planned. If smaller, less important topics get cut off at the end of the meeting, you can handle them on your own or schedule another meeting. However, if significant discussion topics are missed, the meeting fails to achieve its primary purpose and could be considered a failure. Placing these topics at the top of the agenda usually avoids this issue.

Be flexible with your schedule. One of the biggest threats when planning and coordinating a meeting is running over time. In general, employees dislike meetings that run late, and for good reason: they can be incredibly boring and cause delays in addressing urgent tasks. Make sure your meeting stays on track by keeping an eye on the time and, when appropriate, smoothly moving to the next topic with phrases like: "To stay on schedule, let's move on to the next topic."

• That said, meetings often don't go according to plan, and you'll need to be ready to adapt if a segment runs longer than expected. Be flexible in making the most of the time allotted. For instance, if one section takes longer, you might need to shorten the time for other parts or skip over less critical topics to ensure the meeting ends on time. (To alleviate time pressure, you can strategically add optional content.)

Start writing the agenda early before the meeting. The agenda is crucial: it shows professionalism and signals to attendees that you value their time and contributions to the organization. Therefore, make sure you have enough time to create a quality document by starting to write the agenda as soon as possible.

• Starting early also allows you to gather feedback on the agenda before the meeting actually begins, giving you the opportunity to make adjustments. Sharing the draft with colleagues or superiors and seeking their input can help you catch mistakes and fill in missing information. Waiting until the last minute to write the agenda means you won't have time to incorporate feedback.
• For regular meetings, you might be fine writing the agenda just a day before the meeting. However, for important meetings, you may need several weeks to prepare.

Share the agenda with attendees before the meeting. This ensures that everyone is fully aware of the topics to be discussed. Depending on your company's culture, you might print out multiple copies and hand them out directly or simply share them electronically, such as by sending an email with the document attached. Regardless of the method, make sure the document is free of technical errors before sharing it.

• Depending on the importance of the meeting, you may want to send the agenda to participants at least one or two hours before the meeting. For larger, more critical meetings, it may be necessary to send it a day or even earlier.
• Since people are often busy, it's a smart idea to bring a few extra copies to the meeting in case someone forgets to bring their own.

• Depending on your colleagues' preferences, setting a deadline for submitting additional suggestions for the agenda can be very helpful. Establish a final date and time to receive suggestions and stick to it. Be open to making revisions if they improve the agenda or if the suggestions are more critical than the original content.
• A great tool for running an effective meeting is "OARR": these are the initials for Objective, Agenda, Roles & Responsibilities. First, the meeting needs a clear objective. If you're just meeting to distribute information, don't waste everyone's time; send them a newsletter instead. The objective should have a positive, actionable outcome if possible, such as: "Define the team's quarterly goals." The agenda is a list of topics that will help achieve that objective, along with time limits to keep you on track. For example: "1. Review last quarter's goals (15 minutes), 2. Discuss proposed goals (20 minutes), 3. Select top 5 goals (10 minutes), etc." For Roles & Responsibilities, identify who will lead the meeting, who will take notes, and who will assign action items or follow-ups from the meeting.
• If someone cannot attend, consider creating a "Sorry to miss" section at the top of the agenda or simply leave it blank and announce it during the meeting.
• If your company has a standard template for conference agendas, use it as a guide. In some places, adhering to a pre-established format is very important.