Organising meetings should be simple. But this isn’t always the case. Without a clear structure and definite parameters, assembling a work meeting into an effective and productive one can turn out to be a lot of work.

According to Stephanie Niyonkuru, an office administrator, it’s very crucial to prepare enough and early in order to have all necessities in place.

Appropriately prepare especially for what the main agenda of the meeting should be; have your speech ready, she says. 

"But also another important aspect of preparation is creating ways of how you will let participants be present but also, be active in the meeting. This should be done by informing them early on about the relevant theme that will be covered and how they can contribute,” she adds.

When planning for a meeting, the organiser needs to ask themselves questions such as; why am I scheduling this meeting? What should participants accomplish? Who will be attending and what information do I want to share? 

After clarifying that, the next step is to choose a venue that’s suitable for the meeting and its particular agenda. Venues matter for the kind of meeting one is organising.

A well-planned meeting with a clear agenda doesn’t lose sight of its intended purpose.

Rachel Uwizeye, an accountant shares that running effective meetings calls for creativity and spontaneity.

After posting some ground rules, leave space for creativity from your team members. This will allow the meeting to be fun and productive, she says.

Constructive meeting layout

Writer Sorokan Irina highlights that the secret for organising and conducting an effective meeting is to create the right plan and, also important, follow each stage of it.

At the preparatory stage, the leader must provide participants with information about the upcoming event with issues to be solved or questions to be answered. At this stage, he must also create the right motivation and bring all present to the fact that the constructive interaction is expected, and everyone has the right to their own point of view and, accordingly, will be able to speak out.

At the stage called "start of the meeting”, it’s important for the organiser to clearly state the purpose and topic. To set the tone for the event, you need to hold a welcome part, seat and greet the participants.

The most important moment-the main part of the meeting. At this stage, the leader needs to voice the problem, approve ways for its solution, create optimal conditions for the group to offer a number of successful proposals, and ensure the process of adopting a single final version.

At the final part, the organiser must distribute the results of the meeting to each of the participants. This can also be done 1-2 hours after the planning session. It’s very important to finish the meeting correctly, inspire employees with positive energy and increase interaction between team members.