Preparing for a Meeting Calling a Meeting
There are a number of ways that you may call or be called to a meeting. Some meetings are announced by e–mail, and others are posted on bulletin boards. If a meeting is announced at the end of another meeting, it is important to issue a reminder. A reminder can also come in the form of an e–mail or notice. Verbal announcements or reminders should always be backed up by documented ones. The date, location, time, length, and purpose of the meeting should be included. It is also important to indicate exactly who is expected to attend, and who is not. If you are planning on allocating someone to take on a certain role, make personal contact with that person to inform them of his or her duty.
Sample E–mail:
To: jane@paristours.com
cc: kana@paristours.com; thomas@paristours.com; nolan@paristours.com
From: pierre@paristours.com
Subject: Meeting
Hi Everyone,
We will be having a meeting next Friday from 2:00 PM–4:00 PM in Room 3. All supervisors are expected to attend. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the upcoming tourist season. As you probably have heard, this could be our busiest season to date. There are already twenty bus tours booked from Japan, and fifteen walking tours booked from North America. We are also expecting Korean and Australian tours in late summer. Please make arrangements to have other staff members cover your duties during the meeting.
Thank you,
Pierre
Sample Notice:
MEETING
LOCATION: Room 3 DATE: Friday, May 5th TIME: 2:00 PM–4:00 P.M. FOR: Supervisors only SUBJECT: Tourist Season ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY
| Writing an Agenda
In order to keep the meeting on task and within the set amount of time, it is important to have an agenda. The agenda should indicate the order of items and an estimated amount of time for each item. If more than one person is going to speak during the meeting, the agenda should indicate whose turn it is to «have the floor«. In some cases, it may be useful to forward the agenda to attendees before the meeting. People will be more likely to participate in a meeting, by asking questions or offering feedback, if they know what is going to be covered.
Sample Agenda:
1
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Welcome, Introduction: Pierre and Stella (5 minutes)
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2
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Minutes from previous meeting: Jane (10 minutes)
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3
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Japan Tours: Pierre (15 minutes)
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4
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N.A. Tours: Pierre (15 minutes)
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5
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Korean Tours: Pierre (15 minutes)
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6
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Australian Tours: Pierre (if time allows 10 minutes)
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7
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Feedback from last year: Everyone (15 minutes)
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8
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Vote on staff picnic: Everyone (15 minutes)
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9
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Questions/Closing remarks/Reminders: Everyone (5 minutes)
| Allocating roles
The person in charge of calling and holding a meeting may decide to allocate certain roles to other staff members. Someone may be called upon to take the minutes, someone may be asked to do roll call, and someone may be asked to speak on a certain subject. This should be done either in person, or in an e–mail.
Sample Personal Request:
Pierre: Hi Jane, did you get the e–mail about next week's meeting?
Jane: Yes, I'll be there.
Pierre: Great. I'd like to put you in charge of reviewing the minutes from last meeting for us.
Jane: Sure, I can do that. I think there is a copy of the minutes in my file.
Pierre: Thanks, you'll have ten minutes to remind us of what we discussed last meeting. This will be good for Stella to hear. Stella will be our new private tours coordinator.
Sample E–mail:
To: jane@paristours.com
From: pierre@paristours.com
Subject: Minutes
Hi Jane,
I just wanted to make sure that you would be available to review last month's minutes and present them at Friday's meeting. We have a new staff member joining us, so I'd like to give her a chance to see where things have been going since the last meeting.
If you have any concerns about this, let me know.
Thanks,
Pierre
Small Talk
Whether you are holding the meeting or attending the meeting it is polite to make small talk while you wait for the meeting to start. You should discuss things unrelated to the meeting, such as weather, family, or weekend plans.
Sample Dialogue:
Pierre: Hi Thomas. How are you? Thomas: Great thanks, and you? Pierre: Well, I'm good now that the warm weather has finally arrived. Thomas: I know what you mean. I thought winter was never going to end. Pierre: Have you dusted off your golf clubs yet? Thomas: Funny you should ask. I'm heading out with my brother–in–law for the first round of the year on Saturday.
Welcome
Once everyone has arrived, the chairperson, or whoever is in charge of the meeting should formally welcome everyone to the meeting and thank the attendees for coming.
Well, since everyone is here, we should get started.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming today.
I think we'll begin now. First I'd like to welcome you all.
Thank you all for coming at such short notice.
I really appreciate you all for attending today.
We have a lot to cover today, so we really should begin.
Sample Welcome:
Pierre: I think we'll begin now. First I'd like to welcome you all and thank everyone for coming, especially at such short notice. I know you are all very busy and it's difficult to take time away from your daily tasks for meetings.
Introductions
If anyone at the meeting is new to the group, or if there is a guest speaker, this is the time when introductions should be made. The person in charge of the meeting can introduce the new person, or ask the person to introduce him or herself.
I'd like to take a moment to introduce our new tour coordinator.
I know most of you, but there are a few unfamiliar faces.
Stella, would you like to stand up and introduce yourself?
Hi everyone. I'm Judy Strauss. I'll be acting as Amanda's assistant while Nancy is away on maternity leave.
Roll Call/Apologies
If the meeting is a small group, it is probably unecessary to take attendance out loud. The person who is taking the minutes will know everyone personally and can indicate who is present and who is absent. In a larger meeting, it may be necessary to send around an attendance sheet or call out names. If an important figure is absent, it may be necessary for the chairperson to apologize for his or her absence and offer a brief explanation for it.
It looks like everyone is here today.
If you notice anyone missing, please let Jane know so that she can make a note of it.
Unfortunately, Ken cannot join us today. He has been called away on business
Mike will be standing in to take the minutes today, as Lisa is home with the flu.
Objectives
Some people who hold meetings prefer to pass around copies of the agenda, and others will post a large copy on a wall, or use an overhead projector. No matter which format is used, attendees should be able to follow the agenda as the meeting progresses. Before beginning the first main item on the agenda, the speaker should provide a brief verbal outline the objectives.
Sample Introduction to the Agenda:
Pierre: As you can all see here on the agenda we will be mainly talking about the upcoming tourist season. First we'll discuss the groups that will be coming in from Japan. After that we'll discuss the North American Tours, followed by the Korean tours. If time allows we will also discuss the Australian tours which are booked for early September. Next, I'm going to request some feedback from all of you concerning last year's tours and where you think we can improve. And finally, we'll be voting on where and when to have this year's staff picnic.
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