Meeting Management: How to run a "Project Status" meeting

As we have covered previously, doing this well really requires only a few things:

• Before the meeting: Make your plan
• During the meeting: Follow your plan
• After the meeting: Complete the plan 

• What do you want to tell them?  
• Make a list of the key points you want to communicate.
• Make sure you have invited the right people
• Getting this right assures your message gets out efficiently.
• Make sure that you have the right place for the meeting – 
• Will the room/teleconference be big enough for the number of participants you expect?
• Who needs to do something as a result of the new information you’re giving them? 
• Make a list of anticipated action items for your reference.
• Publish an agenda.  
• This tells people that you have a plan.  This can be a simple list of bulleted items in the email invitation.
• When do you need to follow up?  
• How long after this meeting do you need to meet again?
• Review your plan 
• Take a look at the agenda – does it contain your key points?
• Practice running through the agenda.  Yes, this is awkward and seems uncomfortable, but you’d rather find what’s missing before you’re in front of all those people, right?
• Check your handouts for errors.  If possible, have someone else proofread your work.  It’s easy to overlook mistakes.

• Start on time.  
• If your meetings always start on time, people will learn to show up on time.
• Show the agenda – 
• Either give out a handout with the agenda, or 
• Project it onto the screen.
• STICK TO THE AGENDA! 
• This is critical to accomplishing your goal.  If something comes up that could derail the meeting, speak to it directly – 
• Write it down.
• Tell the person that you’ve made a note of it, 
• Assure the person who brought it up that you will address it either off line one on one or in a subsequent meeting.
• Do it!  Make sure that you follow up.  This will pay big dividends.
• Publish the key points 
• Create a handout containing your key message points.
• Action items:  
• Take notes as you assign action items to team members.  
• As the last point on the agenda, review each action item, due date and the owner
• End on time (or early) 
• You’ll find that having a plan and sticking to it during the meeting will let you finish on time.  Your attendees will appreciate that!

• Send a quick follow up message 
• Thanking people for their attendance;
• Reminding them of the key points discussed during the meeting.  You can essentially copy/paste these from your agenda; and 
• Sending the list of action items, owners, and expected completion dates
• Plan your next meeting

• a sample invitation email, 
• a sample agenda, and 
• a sample follow up email.

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