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Inviting to and executing efficient 25-minute meetings is an art. Where masters have a clear idea and template for how they run their meetings. Starting with crafting a fit for purpose invite.

Purpose of this template

The purpose of this template is to improve the quality of invites for short internal meetings. With focus on giving out as much as required in advance, and focus on essentials in the meeting. With the organizer taking on the preparation burden beyond putting out a place holder.

Type of meeting

Five types of meeting dominate internal meeting structures. Brainstorming, insight sharing, progress reporting, resolution development and decision meetings. Be clear on which type of meeting you are calling for.

Expected outcome

Articulated one important effect the meeting must generate. Short meetings focus on one outcome at the time.

Well-articulated question

If it is a call for a brainstorming or a resolution development meeting you need a well-articulated question. A question all buy into as relevant and crisp before your meeting start.

Participants and expected role

Set clear expectation in advance on how each participant should contribute. As organizer, secretary, presenter or active listener.

In case it is a decision meeting set the record straight on who is playing the presenting, recommending, approving and supporting roles.

Agenda points

The shorter the meeting, the fewer and crisper agenda points you need. Limit yourself to at most three agenda points. And make sure all support the wanted outcome

Pre-reading material

Target to complement each short meeting with one piece of pre-reading material. Limited to one page. This put an increased preparation burden on both organizer and participants. But is critical for successful short meetings. Distributed in initial call for meeting or at least 48 hours before your meeting start

Collaboration tools and sharing of minutes

Be clear on the collaboration tools used by the team at hand. Avoid e-mail for minutes and final deliverables. Make it a habit of leveraging your collaborative tools. For everything expect the invite for the meeting. A great way to secure the output is not lost in clogged in-boxes.

Thank you for reading and good luck in becoming a wizard and organizing and attending powerful short meetings.