{"id":1763,"date":"2013-04-22T14:05:10","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T04:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/?p=1763"},"modified":"2015-09-01T13:48:38","modified_gmt":"2015-09-01T03:48:38","slug":"business-writing-skills-training-brisbane-write-meeting-agendas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/business-writing-skills\/business-writing-skills-training-brisbane-write-meeting-agendas\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write Meeting Agendas: Business Writing Skills Training in Brisbane"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Time is a precious commodity in business; you cannot afford to have discussions in meetings go all over the place.<\/b><\/p>\n<figure class=\"figure alignleft\"><a title=\"Business Writing Training Course Brisbane\" href=\"\/courses\/business-writing-training\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" style=\"margin: 4px;\" title=\"Business Writing Training Course in Brisbane\" alt=\"Business Writing Training Course in Brisbane from pd training\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/photodune-4099846-writing-xs-300x199.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Develop skills to write masterfully<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To develop the ability to write business documents brilliantly, consider participating in\u00a0<a title=\"Classes in Business Writing\" href=\"\/courses\/business-writing-training\" target=\"_blank\">Business Writing Training Course<\/a> offered by pdtraining in Brisbane and many other cities in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Agendas are an integral part in keeping meetings focused, organised, and flowing well. In this article, we will discuss the basic structure of agendas, how to select an agenda format and tips and techniques when writing an agenda.<\/p>\n<h3>The Basic Structure<\/h3>\n<p>An agenda is a list of the topics for discussion in a meeting, alongside with details that can help the meeting run successfully. It keeps the discussion on track and the meeting within schedule. When included in the invitation, an agenda is a way to brief participants on how they should prepare for the meeting and what they should bring.<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"\/courses\/business-writing-training\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"book now button business writing training sydney\" alt=\"book now button business writing training sydney\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/book-now-button.jpg\" width=\"142\" height=\"42\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>The basic structure of a business meeting agenda includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Date, Time, Location, and Estimated Duration of the Meeting<\/li>\n<li>Purpose of the Meeting<\/li>\n<li>Advanced Preparation Guidelines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>List down what invitees need to review or think about before the business meeting in Brisbane so that the discussion can be more targeted and productive.\u00a0 This is also the section to advise attendees what they need to bring to the meeting.\u00a0 Example: \u201cPlease have a copy of the 2011 Financial Report with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>List of Invited (or Confirmed) Attendees<\/li>\n<li>Items for Discussion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is recommended that you state items for discussion using results-oriented action words.\u00a0 Example: \u201cDecide on which vendor to award XYZ account to.\u201d is a better agenda item than \u201cXYZ Account\u201d or \u201cTalk about XYZ bidders.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Person-in-Charge for each item<\/li>\n<li>Approximate Time to be spent on each item<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Choosing an Agenda Format<\/h3>\n<p>A good business skills writing course will provide you with some formats to use when crating a business meeting agenda. There are many different formats of a business meeting agenda, although very few stray from the basic structure discussed earlier. Word processing software, like <a title=\"Microsoft Word 2013 Essentials Training\" href=\"\/courses\/word-2013-essentials-training-course\" target=\"_blank\">Microsoft Word<\/a>, offers agenda templates and agenda wizards for you to use.<\/p>\n<p>The agenda format to use depends on:<\/p>\n<p><b>When the attendees are going to view the agenda: <\/b>Most agendas are distributed days before the meeting (which is recommended). There are cases, however, when an emergency meeting has to be called, and the agenda is sent on the meeting day\/ hour itself. If it\u2019s the latter case, write the meeting agenda in outline form; this way it can be easily reviewed in the shortest time.<\/p>\n<p><b>The context of the business meeting: <\/b>Some meetings happen regularly, for example a monthly Board of Directors Meeting. In this case, sections on \u2018Matters Resolved the Previous Meeting\u201d or \u201cMatters Arising from the Previous Meeting\u201d may be appropriate for the meetings to have a good flow.<\/p>\n<p>Agendas for meetings that happen regularly may not be as detailed as other agendas, as there is the presumption that regular attendees can easily make out what basic outlines and basic tags mean. The attendees\u2019 level of familiarity with the items in the agenda can also dictate how detailed and how formal an agenda should be.<\/p>\n<p><b>The purpose of the agenda: <\/b>Your purpose in sending out an agenda can influence what format you should use.<\/p>\n<p>Some agendas are meant as an invitation to potential meeting attendees. In this case, you can include sections on how you perceive their input on the discussion would help.<\/p>\n<p>Some agendas are meant as orientations. For example, The Toastmasters\u2019 Club issue agendas to inform their invitees what would happen in an event. They write the agenda in the second person, e.g. \u201cThis is the section where you discuss what happened in the last symposium\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Writing the Business Meeting Agenda in Brisbane<\/h3>\n<p>When writing the agenda, consider the following factors:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Priority of Items <\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Consult everyone involved in the meeting what topics should be included in the agenda. At least, seek confirmation from your team if the agenda is accurate and complete.<\/li>\n<li>Rank the topics in descending order of importance and urgency. This way, it\u2019s the less priority topics that get sacrificed in case there\u2019s no more time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Logical Flow<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Start with topics arising from the previous meeting before new stuff, unless new issues are more important.<\/li>\n<li>Combine items that are related and or similar.<\/li>\n<li>Start with \u2018informational items\u2019 first, before items that require <a title=\"Critical Thinking Training Course\" href=\"\/critical-thinking-training-course\" target=\"_blank\">critical thinking<\/a> and <a title=\"Problem Solving and Decision Making Training\" href=\"\/courses\/problem-solving-and-decision-making-training-course\" target=\"_blank\">decision-making<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Allot time for questions.<\/li>\n<li>Close with a wrap-up\/review session.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Timing<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Plan for only 30 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Anything longer tends to be unproductive because of attendees\u2019 fatigue.<\/li>\n<li>Be reasonable in setting the time that will spent on each topic. If the discussion has to be really focused, state in the agenda what precisely would be discussed. You may also advise attendees what they need to prepare beforehand to get the discussion flowing faster.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure><a href=\"\/courses\/business-writing-training\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"book now button business writing training sydney\" alt=\"book now button business writing training sydney\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/book-now-button.jpg\" width=\"142\" height=\"42\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><a title=\"\/blog\/professional-development-training\/time-management-training\/manage-time-greater-productivity\/\" href=\"\/blog\/professional-development-training\/time-management-training\/manage-time-greater-productivity\/\" target=\"_blank\">Related Article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"\/pd-training-reviews\" href=\"\/pd-training-reviews\" target=\"_blank\">Pdtraining <\/a>delivers 1000\u2019s of professional development courses each year in Brisbane, Sydney, Parramatta, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth, so you can be assured your training will be delivered by a qualified and experienced trainer.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">All public\u00a0<a title=\"Classes in Business Writing\" href=\"\/courses\/business-writing-training\" target=\"_blank\">Business Writing Training<\/a> courses include am\/pm tea, lunch, printed courseware and a certificate of completion.\u00a0 Customised courses are available upon request so please contact pdtraining on\u00a01300 121 400 to learn more.<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Time is a precious commodity in business; you cannot afford to have discussions in meetings go all over the place. To develop the ability to write business documents brilliantly, consider participating in\u00a0Business Writing Training Course offered by pdtraining in Brisbane and many other cities in Australia. Agendas are an integral part in keeping meetings focused, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[1139,822,572,1140,573,1248,1142],"views":44,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1763"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4691,"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763\/revisions\/4691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdtraining.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}