Creating Agendas

An agenda is the foundation of your meetings.

A good meeting is one that is planned out in advance. A meeting which has been planned in advance will be much more effective that a meeting where you and the members are totally unprepared. Make the agenda something members look forward to reading, do not hesitate to be creative and/or add a little humor.

What is an agenda?

An agenda is simply a listing of topics, issues and/or problems that will be discussed during the meeting.

Why use an agenda?

1. An agenda lets people know what to expect.
2. Allows each person to prepare in advance.
3. Provides an order for dealing with issues.
4. Teaches members how to prepare a report, what information is relevant, and what information is not relevant.
5. An agenda is a type of delegation, as it lists people's responsibilities for other details.
6. Saves everyone time.
7. Makes you organized.

Who makes the agenda?

Various approaches can be used:

1. One - person, usually the person who will be conducting the meeting.
2. Written/verbal input in which the chairperson solicits anyone to submit matters to him or her by a certain date.
3. Officers work together to develop it.
4. The entire general membership, during the meeting set aside 5 - 10 minutes at end to ask for suggestions.

What are the types of agendas?

1. Informal
2. Formal
3. Prioritized
4. Timed
5. Descriptive
6. Intervention

Examples:

1. Formal
   1. Meeting - time and date
   2. Roll Call
   3. Approval of Minutes
   4. Officers Reports
   5. Committee Reports
   6. Old Business
   7. New Business
   8. Announcements
2. Prioritized
   1. Treasurer's Resignation
   2. Sally's Program Idea
   3. Friday's Event