Let’s Meet

by Chris Gratigny on November 20th, 2009

I’ve noticed that often people will say something like “I’d like to meet with you about X”. Unfortunately, if will often not happen. When you are requesting a meeting, or responding to a meeting request, there are a few things to be sure to do to make sure it happens.

In my opinion, a good meeting request looks like:
Chris, I’d like to meet next week at my office about project Y. I expect it to be an hour meeting, with you, me, and Bob. I’ve attached the talking points for you to review prior to the meeting.

The times I have open are Monday between 9-11 and Thursday between 9-12. Email me back with the time that works for you, or an alternate time.

What I was sure to include were….

Who to contact:
Not everyone does their own schedule, so tell the other party who to contact. You, or your admin?

Timeframe:
How soon do you need to meet? a week from now? Communicate that when you ask for a meeting. Communicating time makes thing happen!

Place:
Knowing where you will meet is important, especially if you don’t work 10 feet from someone. Choose a place right away.

Length:
How long? 1/2 hour, 1 hour, 1 1/2 hours? Don’t assume that all meetings need to be one hour.

Attendees:
This list should be published, if it is you and one other person, great. If you are bringing your assistant – let the other person know. Surprise attendees aren’t fun.

Agenda/Topic:
Even if you don’t provide an agenda, tell the other people what you will be talking about . If the meeting has more than 3 people and includes people from more than 1 department, you really should have an agenda.