Planning an important meeting? Anyone who has been there will know how nerve-wracking it can be. Meetings, of course, cover a huge range of different subjects and styles - you might be planning a one-to-one with your boss, a meeting to share ideas or present a new project to your team, or a pitch for new clients. There's one top line rule that applies to all these scenarios and more - preparation is key, and the last thing you want is to walk into that meeting with no plan.
Many of these meetings involve selling yourself. Interviews, business proposals, pitches, personal development meetings - these moments aren’t just about an individual project or idea, they’re about selling yourself and building your reputation in your company or industry for the future. After all, when you smash a presentation out of the park, it builds your confidence for upcoming opportunities.
That comes with a lot of weight. Meetings, whether important or not, come with pressure and the weight of carrying such an event on your shoulders, it can be easy to become stressed and forgetful. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail, as they say. That’s why we’ve broken down the steps to ensure that your plan is fool proof, with tips and advice on executing it perfectly.
Or, perhaps you feel as though you lose a lot of time to meetings that aren't as productive as they should be? There's often a misconception that having all the right people in a room is all you need to get something done, but we've all walked out of meetings feeling as though we've made no progress.
This handy guide to planning the perfect meeting takes you through the whole process, from choosing the right venue for your meeting or the perfect spot for drinks out with a client, to a thorough tech test well in advance and, of course, practising your pitch. Fingers crossed, this meeting checklist will help you stay on top of your game, and ensure you're maxing out your productivity.
Be sure of the meeting’s purpose
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First, ask yourself – is this meeting absolutely necessary? No one likes their time being wasted and so determining exactly what this meeting’s purpose is will help you decide who needs to be in it, the appropriate venue, and is crucial when writing up the agenda. Try working backwards, outlining what you’d like to achieve and hoped outcomes, this will ensure that the right people come along.
Create a clear agenda
Putting together an agenda, based on what you hope to achieve in the meeting and what you would like everyone attending to share, will help you understand how long the meeting will go on for and the type of space you need for it.
Create a rough draft of timings, imagining how long attendees will speak for and what will be shared. This is also a good time to be communicative with attendees, checking in on their availability and their expectations, all of which will be helpful when choosing the venue.
Choose the right venue
Your venue is key for ensuring that you have the right facilities in order to deliver your message, making sure everyone is comfortable and that the atmosphere is right.
For example, if you’re entertaining clients you might want to opt for a private dining room to give you the privacy to discuss business while enjoying some delicious food. London is a great place to do this, as the capital has a wealth of sophisticated private dining options, while Manchester, Edinburgh and Liverpool have impressive offerings, too.
However, if you need a meeting room then consider what kind of tech it will need to support, how big the space is and how many people it can seat, as well as facilities for presenting and how aesthetically pleasing it needs to be.
Check out the space first
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Seeing the venue in person well in advance of the meeting is crucial for a number of reasons. We would advise viewing the venue before you book anything and ensuring that it looks as nice as in the pictures, the toilet and food facilities are adequate, as well as the space and seating being up to scratch.
Once booked, you might want to ask the venue if you can do a quick run through and check that the equipment is digitally compatible by connecting your laptop or using the sound system. The last thing you want is to be fiddling around with your laptop on the day, apologising for a lack of sound or connection to screens.
Plan your route in advance (and make it failsafe)
If you’ve had chance to visit the venue then you should have tested the route already, which is crucial. Always have a back-up plan, the number of a reliable taxi company and check the local news for any disruptions well before you set off.
Prepare everything you need in good time
It’s a no-brainer, but sometimes the simplest things are easily forgotten. For example, pack your bag the night before and prepare a selection of outfits readily ironed so that you’re not scrambling around in the morning.
Mentally walk through the day and tick off everything you might need – from a breakfast bar if you’ll need some energy beforehand to having essentials such as a face mask or work pass ready. The last thing you need on a stressful day is to be running around looking for your keys.
Always bring a paper copy
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The digital age has transformed the way we work and while most of us need laptops and phones to do our jobs, in the event of a technical glitch no one wants to be caught off-guard with nothing to share.
Always print out paper copies of presentations, agendas, meeting notes and imagery of what you’re sharing to ensure that if there is a problem you can still deliver your points. Print a few of everything so that there are enough sheets to go around, and even keep a few notebooks and pens in your bag just in case.
Get presentation lessons
If you’re presenting to a group, it’s a good idea to get some professional help to ensure that you are able to put yourself across in the best possible way. From grounding your weight evenly on your feet, to speaking slower than you usually would, a coach can share simple tips to make presenting easier and more effective.
Continue to practise at home
Practise really does make perfect. Talk your presentation through at home as many times as possible to nail the flow and memorise as much as you can. This will help your delivery to feel more natural and allow for some spontaneity. You can also use your phone to time yourself speaking and try to trim it down to cut out any extra waffle.
Ensure everyone knows their roles
It’s important that attendees feel at ease so that you can all get the most out of your meeting together. Use your previous notes from the agenda to understand what each person hopes to achieve and communicate clearly about when they will be speaking and what about.
Send a thorough plan of what will be happening on the day around, and include the best directions for the venue, as well as details of catering or nearby lunch spots. It might be important to plan out where certain people are going to sit, in which case make sure this is clearly marked in the room. We'd also recommend that someone should take notes from the meeting.
Stay on track!
Once the meeting gets started, it's very easy to get distracted by other topics. You might find it helpful to nominate someone to host the meeting (or you might yourself be the host). This person is responsible for making sure that the meeting sticks to the agenda and doesn't get off track - after all, time is valuable to all the people in the room. Don't be afraid to remind people that there are certain topics that need to be addressed before the end of the meeting if the conversation is going in a different direction.
Send out a summary
This is where meeting notes are worth their weight in gold, as you can send them around to everyone afterwards. A real problem with face to face meetings is that without notes you have no paper trail of what has been agreed, and things are easily forgotten. Sending out a summary after the meeting creates that paper trail of next steps and agreements. A general follow-up is useful, and you might also find that a to do list or action plan is also applicable here.
We have plenty more handy guides when it comes to event organisation - check out our guide to event seating types, and our 13-step checklist for effortless event planning.