Pre-Meeting Planning for Effective Communication

Considering the high cost of both time and money, meetings in which
communications are unclear can be costly not only for meeting participants but also
a small-business owner. Because of this, pre-planning is vital to ensure meeting
objectives are met and that communications during the meeting flow smoothly.
Planning activities such as selecting a meeting facilitator, establishing clear meeting
objectives and creating an agenda are vital for effective communication.
The Meeting Facilitator
Meeting facilitators focus on effective communication both before and during the
meeting. Responsibilities include pre-meeting planning and ensuring there is
effective and active participation by guiding communications during the meeting.
Once the meeting ends, a facilitator is responsible for ensuring meeting minutes are
properly recorded and any follow-up is handled before the next scheduled meeting.
Effective facilitators possess characteristics and personality traits such as
objectivity, along with good problem solving, decision-making and communications
skills.
Setting Meeting Objectives
Establishing clear meeting objectives during pre-planning is a first step to effective
communication. Meeting objectives state the reasons for holding the meeting and
the expected outcome. Clear objectives assist in effective communication by
ensuring participants understand why they've been invited and how best to
mentally prepare. For example, the goal of a project management meeting might be
a status update, or the goal of a finance meeting might be to discuss an upcoming
audit. Documented objectives distributed prior to the start of the meeting can also
ensure the appropriate employees are in attendance.
The Significance of an Agenda
Once objectives are established, a meeting invitation that includes an agenda can
further enhance effective communication. An effective agenda -- most often sent a
few days to a week in advance of the meeting -- promotes effective communication
by clearly relating objectives to action steps, keeping participants on track and
focused. A meeting agenda starts with the date, time and location of the meeting. It
then goes on to include meeting objectives and subtopics or action steps for
accomplishing each objective. It might also include deadlines and reminders
regarding upcoming events. A project management meeting may require a status
update from each attendee and an audit meeting might require a readiness report
from each department head.
Meeting Ground Rules
Setting ground rules as part of the pre-planning process or just before the meeting
starts is crucial for effective communication. Ground rules can focus on attendee
participation and guidelines for behavior, such as during a debate or disagreement.
They may also include include a confidentiality clause. A list of what won’t be
tolerated, such as name-calling or personal attacks can also be included. Ground
rules ensure attendees are able to communicate freely without the fear of ridicule or
reprisal form other meeting attendees.
Why meeting agendas are important?
Despite all that’s been written on how to make meetings more effective, we continue
to be amazed at the number of otherwise competent executives who ad-lib when it
comes to organizing their business meetings.
A simple meeting agenda, distributed in advance, is perhaps the most important tool
in ensuring a successful productive meeting, even when the meeting is between only
you and one other person. Here’s why:
Agendas Set The Right Tone: Meeting agendas let participants know that there’s a
legitimate business purpose for meeting, with specific issues to be discussed and
outcomes to be achieved. It conveys your interest in getting down to business and
not wasting time.
Agendas Identify Topics For Discussion: Agendas let attendees know what issues
are going to be discussed, and keep them from placing other issues on the
table. They also eliminate guesswork as to whether or not a particular issue is going
to be discussed.
Agendas Keep Everyone Focused: Meeting agendas can focus participants in ways
that verbal guidance cannot. Participants have a written reminder of what needs to
be accomplished during the meeting, allowing them to help drive each discussion
toward conclusion.
Agendas Eliminate Excuses: Agendas eliminate excuses that participants aren’t
ready to discuss a subject because they didn’t know it was going to be brought
up. Participants are put on notice of exactly what they need to prepare, saving time
and eliminating embarrassment.
If you can’t personally create a meeting agenda for the meetings you convene, at
least delegate that responsibility to one of the participants (that way, you’ll get all of
the benefits of having an agenda without having to do the work!).

Why Do You Need an Agenda for a Meeting?

The difference between meetings with and without agendas can mean chaos, ruffled
feathers and very few accomplishments. An agenda communicates to attendees that
the meeting will be conducted in an orderly fashion and that productivity is the goal.
Businesses hold meetings to get things done, share information, develop plans,
document progress, provide clarity and make decisions. An agenda can ensure that
the meeting stays on track and that special projects and routine operations proceed
as intended. An agenda can help a group of employees function as an effective team.
Preparation and Planning
Development of a meeting agenda is the first step in preparing for a meeting and
planning the issues to be discussed. By sending the agenda out in advance of the
meeting, attendees can provide updates on agenda items or suggest other issues for
inclusion. The meeting planner can contact executive-level attendees to get their
input for agenda items. Reviewing the agenda in advance gives attendees time to put
together reports and other documents required for the meeting. Review of and
additions to the agenda can also be performed before the start of the meeting.
Acceptance of the agenda by attendees in advance is an agreement by all on how to
conduct the meeting and the issues to be discussed.
Control
Everyone involved in a meeting has a greater sense of control with a meeting
agenda. The agenda is often sent out in advance of the meeting so attendees know
what to expect and have time to prepare. An agenda gives the person conducting the
meeting control over the flow of discussions, the issues covered and the attendees
responsible for reporting specific information at the meeting. An agenda also can
help keep the meeting within a predetermined time frame controlling when issues
are discussed. People are less likely to slow the meeting with interruptions if they
know that their issue is on the agenda. Each attendee can relax knowing that the
meeting is under control and that issues that are important to each are listed on the
agenda.
Productivity
An agenda increases productivity at meetings. Attendees understand that all items
on the agenda must be discussed and are likely to move at a pace that ensures they
will cover everything. Agendas make it clear what the action items are and who are
the responsible people. This allows attendees to leave meetings knowing what must
be accomplished before the next meeting. The agenda also allows attendees to
review action items at the next meeting and receive progress reports of progress.
The agenda helps attendees zero in on the areas where decisions are needed and
clears the way for progress. Attendees can leave the meeting feeling a sense of
accomplishment with the agenda to verify their productivity.
Documentation
As meeting attendees work their way through the agenda, the person taking
minutes notes on the agenda the results of each discussion, which action items were
completed or newly developed, reports given, issues to be resolved and other
documentation of events at the meeting. The agenda notes help with creating
minutes that match the flow of the meeting and also provide comprehensive
documentation of the meeting.

Why Is it Important for a Business to Budget?

Running a business often requires owners to carefully plan and review their
finances. Most companies use some form of accounting for identifying, measuring,
analyzing and reporting their financial information. Accounting tools may include
budgeting, financial statements, forecasts and other tools for managing financial
information. Business budgets for maybe one of the most important accounting
tools of company may use in their business.
Facts
Budgets usually represent a detailed analysis of how a company expects to spend
money in future time periods. Many companies create budgets on an annual basis so
they can carefully outline the expected needs of each department in the business.
Using an annual budget process also limits the amount of time companies spend
creating and managing capital resources. Although larger companies may have
employed accountants or other professionals to create the business budget, small
business owners are usually responsible to complete this function themselves.
Limit Expenditures
A major benefit to using a business budget is the ability to limit how much money is
spent on certain operations. Budgets usually count expense accounts to ensure that
capital is not wasted on unessential items or the company does not overpay for
economic resources used in the business. Limiting the amount of capital spent by
the business may require owners and managers to find new vendors or suppliers for
acquiring business inputs, saving money and meeting budget limits.
Creates Financial Roadmap
Budgets often allow companies to have a financial roadmap for business operations.
Many companies review previous year’s budgets to determine how well they
followed the guidelines and why budget variances occurred. Not all budget
variances may indicate a negative business situation. If budget variances occurred
due to unexpected growth in sales revenue, companies may need to increase the
budget amounts for future sales increases.
Plan for Future Growth
Companies often use budgets to plan for future business growth and expansion.
Capital saved on regular business expenditures may be placed into a special reserve
account designated for selecting new business opportunities. Budgeting for future
growth opportunities ensures that companies have capital on hand when needing to
make a quick decisions for expanding business operations. This capital may also be
used during slow economic times as a safety net for paying regular business
expenses.
Considerations
Using a business or accounting software package may help companies automate
their budget process and keep track of expenses electronically. These software
packages may also gather or collect information from the company’s accounting
department to create a simpler process for creating and managing budgets. These
software packages are usually an invaluable tool for managing financial information
and reviewing information in a real-time format.

17 PROVEN WAYS TO BOOST YOUR EVENT ATTENDANCE

Nothing is more deflating than spending countless hours (as well as lots of money)
planning an event only to have a paltry turnout. Empty chairs are the bane of every
event planner’s existence, and so we decided to compile a list of tactics for
improving the attendance at your events.
Note that some of these event attendance tips may not apply to every type of event
… some are better for meetings, some better for corporate events, some better for
weddings and parties. But this is a good place to start your brainstorming. I didn’t
cover all the specific ways you can use social media to promote your events, mainly
because there are so many great posts like here and here and here. I’m not going to
mention “Choose a great speaker or entertainer” because that’s fairly obvious. And I
am going to use the term “attendees” to apply to any kind of guest, attendee or
participant.
And keep in mind that people procrastinate to the last minute to RSVP or register
(Eventbrite had a recent stat that 1/2 of event registrations or RSVPs occur within 2
weeks of the event date), so your goal is to push those RSVPs/registrations earlier.

1. Ask for input upfront (and feedback afterwards)

Doing your research is the first step in planning a successful event, so find out what
your target audience wants (and doesn’t want). Talk to your prospective attendees,
and if you have a list, email them a short e-survey. Then follow up with attendees
after the event to find out what could have been done better and make those tweaks
to your next event.
2. Choose a convenient location that is memorable yet affordable
The best way to drive away attendees is to choose a venue that is too far away or too
expensive for them. So find a location convenient for a majority of your attendees
and make sure it’s distinctive enough to set your event apart and yet not so costly
that it drives up the per-attendee price too much.
3. Choose a date that works for your audience
The time of year, day of the week and time of day all make a difference for
attendance. For example, mornings are great for seminars, after work is great for
appreciation / networking events and weekend afternoons and evenings are
preferable for weddings. In addition, Tuesdays and Thursdays make for good
meeting days, and holidays and Fridays should usually be avoided for most events
(unless it’s a 4th of July party, for example).
4. Don’t compete with similar events (unless you piggyback on them)
If there’s already a similar event planned for the approximate time or day you want
to hold yours, you should look to what other dates would work. The only exception
to this rule is if there is already an event that is being attended by many of your
prospective attendees, and then you may want to plan your event immediately
before or after the other event to capitalize on those people being in town already.
5. Provide options for multiple demographics
You may have widely varying age and interest differences among your audience
members, so one way to appeal to each audience segment is to provide incentives or
programming specifically designed for each segment. If it’s a wedding with lots of
younger people but a significant number of baby-boomers, you may want to offer
two different kinds of music or activities that appeal to each audience.
6. Send out save the dates early
Get on people’s calendars as soon as you can so they can set aside the day and time.
7. Personalize your invitations and other mailed correspondence
Believe it or not, but mailed correspondence gets more attention these days due to
the predominance of email. And anything that is personalized with handwriting gets
even more notice.
8. Simplify the registration / RSVP process
If you are using online registration, make your forms as easy as possible to
complete. Minimize the number of fields. Make it easy for multiple registrations
(because for weddings and parties one person often replies for an entire family, and
for business events one person may be registering for multiple co-workers). And
consider bundled pricing for those multiple registrations.
9. Offer incentives for early registrations or arrivals
Early-bird discounts are a must for priming early registrations for many business-
related events. But also consider giving away books, discount coupons or other
value-adds to people who sign up early. And extend your early-bird registration at
the last minute to give bargain-hunters a second chance.
10. Build your schedule/agenda early and communicate it to your audience
The clearer and more detailed you are about your agenda, the more people will feel
they can make an informed decision about attending. Make sure you include this in
your communications.
11. Build extracurricular fun time into the agenda (and make events family
friendly)
Any event that is longer than 2 hours needs breaks or down time built into the
schedule, and multi-day events should have some extracurricular fun time built into
the schedule. Also, many attendees like to turn conferences and meetings into family
trips, so keep this in mind when proposing entertainment and dining options to
your attendees.
12. Express multiple value propositions in your promotional efforts
Just one benefit isn’t enough for most people to attend your event. You should
include in your invitations, emails and marketing materials (including Web site) the
valuable take-aways of the event (e.g., what attendees will learn); keynote speakers
and/or entertainment; the schedule/agenda; photos and testimonials of past events;
people/companies that attended past events; and any other relevant benefits.
13. Use emails to both invite and remind
Even if you sent out mailed invitations, it still doesn’t hurt to also send an email
invitation and link back to your event website. However, it is critical to use email to
send out reminders to your invited participants as well as your attendees. A good
rule of thumb is sending out emails 14 days, 7 days, 3 days and 1 day prior to the
event.
14. Followup phone calls
Before you are up against your RSVP or registration deadline, it’s a good idea to call
your prospective attendees and ask them simply if they are planning on attending
your event. This has been shown to boost attendance.
15. Optimize your event Web site for mobile devices
Some event planners have found that up to 20% of registrations come from mobile,
so if you have an event that requires online registration, you should make sure your
Web site works well on smart phones and tablets.
16. Cross promote with other organizations
Contact other organizations who may also reach out to your target audience and
give them incentive to cross-promote your event to their lists. You could make them
an in-kind sponsor and give them registration discounts or other spiffs for helping
you.
17. Ask attendees and speakers to help you promote the event
Finally, the best way to promote an event is to empower your attendees and
participants to spread the word. Make it easy for them to reach out to their friends
and peers via email and social media. Offer discounts for bringing friends.
Encourage your speakers and event participants to promote the event to their
networks.