Everyone has been in a meeting that got out of hand at some point during the meeting. Regardless of when the meeting got out of control, runaway meetings rarely accomplish anything meaningful and can even lead to bad attitudes and low morale among employees or volunteer participants. The main key to controlling a meeting is for the meeting leader, chair or facilitator to plan properly. An essential key to a successful participatory meeting is for everyone in the group to feel that they have a right to express their opinions and to help regain control of the meeting when necessary. Below are three tips for achieving these keys.

Tip #1 – Statement of Purpose

Start by planning the meeting, which means having a real purpose for holding the meeting and a plan of action for the meeting process. Make sure all attendees understand the purpose of the meeting. To do this, send the purpose statement to everyone when meeting invitations are sent out. Do not invite people to the meeting who cannot help you achieve the purpose. Repeat the purpose at the beginning of the meeting before introductions. If a purpose was not provided before the meeting, allow anyone who does not feel the purpose affects them or the group they represent to leave if they wish. Having people in the meeting who do not feel ownership of the purpose can result in them not participating in discussions or wanting to change the meeting agenda to suit their own needs.

Tip #2 – Diary

Once a purpose is set, it becomes easy to create a plan of action. The plan of action for the meeting is called the agenda. Make sure there is an agenda that supports the purpose. Each item on the agenda should be an action that needs to be taken to achieve the purpose of the meeting. Once the items are listed, arrange them in a logical flow. If possible, send the agenda to participants in the meeting invitation or as a reminder before the meeting. Review the pre-arranged agenda after any necessary introductions at the meeting. If an agenda was not previously planned, take a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting to create an agenda and decide on the flow. Having time limits set on the agenda will also help the meeting start and end on time. Make sure that all participants agree to the proposed agenda at the beginning of the meeting, as this can avoid secondary problems later on.

Tip #3 – Problem List

The person in charge of the meeting can move the meeting forward by using the agenda to check progress and remind the group when to continue. Anyone in the meeting can use the agenda to refocus the group if someone starts to get off topic or tries to change the order of the process. Simply remind the group that everyone has agreed to the current agenda and ask them if they still feel that this is the route the group should take. Unless an emergency problem arises, the group will usually decide to continue with the original agenda. However, be sure to record any new issues as something the group may want to review later. Having a list of issues lets anyone who wanted to discuss something else know that they were heard and that the group saw the need. So people don’t feel like their issues weren’t considered important, be sure to review them at the end of the meeting by reviewing new issues to see if actions should be assigned or an item should be placed on the agenda for a future meeting. .

The keys to controlling a meeting is proper planning, that participants feel they have a right to participate in the meeting, and that everyone should expect a plan of action for the meeting. Follow these three tips to ensure meetings don’t spiral out of control by setting the purpose of the meeting, creating and using an agenda to control the flow of the meeting, and keeping an issue list to avoid distraction from the purpose and agenda. .