Meetings
In Agendas, Notes, and Minutes, always use numbered lists rather than bulletted lists to make it easier for those points to be referenced.
Cancel the meeting if you cannot answer yes to all 5 questions below...
Does the meeting have a clear purpose?
Is the intended result clear?
Do you have a meeting plan?
Is everyone prepared?
Have the right people attended?
Meeting Documentation
Agenda
The Agenda should be a shared (editable by all attendees) document where any participant can add their own agenda items.
"No agenda, no attenda" (1)
An Agenda should include these sections...
Meeting Title
Date
Attendees
Context (goals, pre-work/pre-read/pre-watch, intent, expected outcomes)
Agenda
Questions (prefaced with the participant's name) should be written and listed in advance of the meeting (in the Agenda).
This tends to increase the quality of questionsIntroductions
The Agenda should include a list of attendees and their roles. This list should be used as a running order for introductions.
For online meetings aim for the camera of the person introducing themselves to have the focus.
Notes
Responsibility for note-taking (adding notes to the Agenda document) can be shared among all participants.
Preface questions and answers with the participant's name.
Minutes
Key takeaways
Next Steps
DRIs (Directly Responsible Individuals)
Meeting Types
AMA
Ask Me AnythingFireside Chat
A "host" provides a list of prepared questions to a "guest" ahead of the meeting. The meeting consists of running through those questions before, optionally, an open Q&A for other particiapnts at the end.
Hybrid
Where some participants are in the room and some are remote. Avoid these wherever possible.
Presentations
Consider recording your presentation and distributing it ahead of the scheduled meeting...
This allows participants to watch the video asynchronously at a time that suits them.
It means the recording can be made available to those who may have missed the meeting.
It allows those who attended the meeting to refresh their memory at a later time.
It nudges you to prepare and allows you to re-take when you get something wrong.
Use the scheduled meeting for Q&A