How to Plan Your Next Big Business Meeting – 2024 Checklist Guide

Even people who are not in the world of business know that important meetings can determine the faith of the company. If one plays their cards right he can attract investors and grow their business. On the other hand, if they come unprepared, they can lose pretty much everything.

Yes, this sounds a bit harsh, but unfortunately, it is how things work. Many businessmen would tell you that time is money, and they cannot waste it on meeting with people who are not prepared. Even if you want to organize a meeting with your partners or managers, you have to plan it down to every detail, and in this article, we are going to tell you how to do that.

What is the agenda?

The first question that you have to answer is why you want to organize a meeting? Is there a problem in the company that you want to discuss with everyone and decide on the best course of action? Have you made an important decision and need to tell your employees about it? Is there a new initiative that people have to learn about?

This is the most basic and essential thing that you think about. In addition, the purpose of the meeting is going to affect all the other steps that we will mention i.e. the aspects of planning it.

Next, you have to make a list of all the meeting activities. This means that not only do you have to write everything down and decide on the order of all the points, but you should also create a time frame. What are we talking about? You should think about how much time you will need for each of these points.

Naturally, you do not want to cut them short and not say all the important things you want to, but at the same time, you have to remember that the longer the meeting gets, the harder it will be for people to stay focused. Due to this reason, try to be concise.

Who are the participants?

Obviously, this is something that depends on the purpose of the meeting. Carefully think about the people who must attend that meeting. Maybe department managers who will then notify their employees of the new changes in the company? Maybe business partners whose help you need in solving some problems?

When it comes to making this list of attendees, you should not only think about the people who have to learn the news, but you should also consider who can help you make a certain decision or even implement a change. If you want to work on marketing for your new product, clearly the best person from that department should be present.

When and where to hold the meeting?

Once again, think about the purpose of the meeting. Is it something small and informal? Why not opt for some small venue? On the other hand, if it is more serious and needs to be professional, a conference room is probably the best choice. If you do not have one that is big enough in your building, then it is time to rent one.

There is one rule that you have to follow. Set a budget! Yes, you want everything to be perfect, especially if you are meeting with some important clients or partners, but that doesn’t mean that you should spend every last penny you have. Don’t forget that you will need some pieces of equipment such as a mic, laptop, speaker, and so on.

When it comes to choosing the venue, you should go with a place that is located close to your company’s building. Naturally, the most important thing is that it meets all your requirements, so if you opt for some venue that is in some remote area, you might also want to think about organizing transportation such as Niagara Falls Limos. This is just a suggestion, but if you find it appealing, you can learn more about their services on the LibertyNiagaraLimo.ca.

Inform all the participants

Now that you have organized and planned everything, it is time to invite people. Once more, depending on the agenda and the location of the meeting, you can send formal invitations, notify the participant via email, or if you meet them on a regular basis, inform them in person.

Besides the agenda, you also have to send the materials i.e. documents to read before the meeting. You want all present to be prepared and be able to join the discussion, right? Well, in order to make this possible, you have to provide them with all the reports a few days before the event so that they would have enough time to read everything and prepare.

Identify the decision-making method

This one might sound a bit odd, but it is of crucial importance to present all the participants with the method that you will use to reach the agreement. This is something that has to be chosen before the meeting so there is no confusion.

You can go with the majority vote method, where every attendee has the right to express their opinion. Furthermore, if there will be a few people from every department of the company, you can opt for group consensus i.e. the method where group members have to come to an agreement and their vote will count as one. Finally, you can choose a method called the leader’s choice, where you will be the one who has the final say. This one is the most popular but keep in mind that you will need to have strong arguments to get everyone on your side.

Finalize the agenda

The last thing that you should do is finalize the list of activities. Since you have already distributed a preliminary one, if there have been some changes, add them to the list and send everyone the new, final version. You cannot expect the people to know about modifications if you haven’t informed them about them, right? One more thing, you have to do this a few days before the meeting because people will need time to prepare.