A rule of thumb of facilitation is that successful meetings are 80 percent preparation and 20 percent execution. Part of that preparation is focusing on what needs to happen to have a successful meeting. The checklist below provides 20 steps for planning and conducting effective meetings.

Before the Meeting

1. Plan the meeting carefully: who, what, when, where, why, how many?
2. Prepare and send out an agenda in advance.
3. Come early and set up the meeting room.

At the Beginning of the Meeting

4. Start on time.
5. Get participants to introduce themselves and state their expectations for the meeting.
6. Review, revise, and order the agenda.
7. Set clear time limits.
8. Review action items from the previous meeting.

During the Meeting

9. Ask questions.
10. Listen.
11. Clarify issues and identify underlying interests.
12. Develop multiple options.
13. Use objective criteria.
14. Use the agenda to keep the meeting moving.
15. Summarize agreements.
16. Identify additional data needed to make decisions.

At the End of the Meeting

17. Establish action items: who, what, when.
18. Set the date and place of the next meeting and develop a preliminary agenda.
19. Close the meeting crisply and positively.

After the Meeting

20. Follow-up on action items and begin to plan the next meeting.