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Questions to Consider
Questions to Consider
As you begin the Meeting Planning Phase, first ask yourself these initial logistical questions to help schedule the meeting and start the meeting plan.
HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL PARTICIPATE?
The number of participants impacts how you coordinate interactions, e.g., group discussion vs breakout groups.
HOW LONG SHOULD THE MEETING BE?
The more people you include, the more time you’ll need for introductions, sharing out and reflection.
HOW DISPERSED IS THE GROUP?
Consider how distance plays a role in interaction. Sometimes a participant’s level of remoteness from others becomes a disadvantage.
WHAT ARE THE TIME ZONE DIFFERENCES?
Be aware of times, dates, and holidays when scheduling a meeting. As one participant is just waking up, another may be winding down.
WHO CAN HELP FACILITATE?
Enlist others as co- facilitators, discussion leads, and scribes. Assign roles in advance.
WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED ASYNCHRONOUSLY?
Maximize together time and push some activities to before and after the meeting.
WHAT TOOLS DO I USE?
Ensure all participants have access to the right tools – ask them to download to their systems and ensure they have access prior to the start time.
Creating a Meeting Plan
Creating a Meeting Plan
After you have scheduled your meeting, begin creating a meeting plan. A meeting plan is a high level overview of the meeting that will guide preparation and create an effective experience. A good meeting plan covers these four core elements.
Objectives
Objectives
The meeting objective(s) should drive how you create the right virtual experience.
Participants
Participants
Identify who will be participating, this will help how you prepare each person and create the experience.
Roles
Roles
Assign roles for those who will be helping to facilitate the meeting, identify what sections each person is responsible for and when.
Agenda
Agenda
Create a meeting agenda with a breakdown of sections, meeting flow, roles, activities, and Q&A.
Objectives
First determine what the meeting objectives are, then plan your meeting towards accomplishing the objectives. Second determine what how the meeting should be organized. Complex topics with ambitious agendas have a better chance of success with fewer participants. Straightforward topics involving fewer exercises still flow with larger groups.
Participants
It is not just important to know who will be participating, but why? Consider if everyone is essential and what their contribution should be. Additionally, consider each person's familiarity with Zoom and the meetings tools you choose to use. If someone is less familiar, you'll want to send instructions on how to use each tool ahead of time.
Roles
Consider what help you may need to execute the meeting, and assign the roles. It is helpful to share the objectives and assign pre-work for each role.
Agenda
Create an agenda that reflects all of the planning you have done so far. A solid agenda has breaks, is designed to achieve objectives, has assigned roles, and has the time breakdown. Consider using Planning Center, for creating a well-organized and shareable agenda.
Once you have shared the finalized the agenda with your meeting team, consider holding a short call to go over logistical items a few days in advance. Introduce everyone, review tools, introduce activities and goals, and do a run through of the meeting.
Example Meeting Agenda
Example Meeting Agenda
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