Meeting planning is simply the task of arranging and preparing for an upcoming meeting. It is in most cases conducted by people who are trained experts in the field of event management. The manner in which the event is planned determines to a large extent the success of the upcoming meeting.
The use of a planner sheet can greatly expedite the planning process. This sheet contains a template of all activities and steps you have to go through to be able to come up with a successful meeting altogether. Moreover, it also guards against all forms of forgetfulness that are rife at such times.
Free Templates
We have provided free planner templates for several different kinds of meetings below. You can download them and get started with your planning process easily.
What a Planner Should Include?
The key feature of the template that makes it crucial for organizing and pre-planning for the meeting include:
Time
The planner template is well designed to ensure that dates, month, and year are clearly mentioned to avoid any fault in planning at the wrong time. The template also enables you to plan hour by hour what will be done at every moment of time through the meeting session.
Venue
The template provides a space where one can clearly state where the meeting will be held. When the agenda is sent to participants for confirmation they need to know where they will meet therefore it is important.
Agenda guest of honors, speaks
Every meeting need to have an agenda and every agenda has sub-topic, which are given to specific speakers, and guests who will take the participant through the agenda. The template also has a slot for mentioning these speakers and guests, and what they will talk about.
Transport details
The template will also mention the means of transport offered to and from the venue if any.
Entertainment
The meeting usually has entertainment in the form of meals, music, and drinks all of which need to be planned and stipulated in the agenda at the slots provided on the planner.
Therefore, with the template, one can be able to plan a meeting’s agenda and communicate it effectively to the participants. The benefit of the template is that you do not have to design one or buy one. You can always get it online free and customize it to your planned meeting theme by adjusting the details and filling the slots provided therein.
Do’s & Don’ts
Do’s
- Maintain effective communication among the various parties: It is important that you communicate effectively with the various parties. This is to ensure that you operate as a group towards a common goal. A breakdown will definitely cause distortions that may compound to even ground the entire meeting to a halt. Needless to say, you have to use a language that is clearly understood by everyone.
- Acquaint yourself with your audience fully: As you prepare for your meeting, you have to acquaint yourself with the target audience fully. You should know their own needs, tastes, preferences, and of course, expectations. These pieces of information will definitely help you to craft a meeting that is wholly relevant to the needs of the visitors.
- Draft and Adhere to a Strict Budget: Everything you do has to be anchored with a strict yet wholesome budget. To enable this, you have to draft and adhere to a strict budget. The budget has to cover those areas and issues that pertain to the meeting altogether. To avoid unnecessary issues, you have to adhere to the budget fully.
- Craft Numerous Drafts of your Event Timeline:Crafting numerous drafts of the event timeline is a sure way of avoiding collisions, conflicts of interests, and misunderstandings in the course of facilitating the event altogether. Each draft has to relate to a particular aspect or angle of the event you are prepping for.
- Send out Invitations Earlier:Finally, you also want to send out invitations earlier. You definitely want to give the attendees ample time to gather their acts and prepare to come over to the venue without fail or unnecessarily delaying. Plus, not everyone has the ability to manage their time well. They have to be aided somehow.
Don’ts
- Invite too many People:Other than operating within a strict budget, you should also not invite too many people. The more people you invite, the costlier the meeting shall be, and the more hectic the preparation itself is likely to be. Take deliberate steps to invite only those whom you can comfortably manage.
- Forget about the garbage disposal:After the event comes to an end, you will definitely have to clear the site and dispose of the garbage. As you plan for the meeting, be sure to cater to the removal of the trash. While at this, factor every detail as much as possible to be sure that no trash is left behind.
- Operate without a master plan:In closing, you should also not operate without a master plan. This is the one that is to provide a framework within which to go about the whole issue. As part of crafting a master plan, be sure to consolidate the key confirmations and details of the meeting in totality.
Conclusion
There you have it! We cannot over emphasize the significance of the meeting planner sheets and templates. Indeed, these documents, and how you use them, determine to a great extent the success of your meeting. It is hence in your best interest to find and make do with a relevant one.
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