Annual General Meetings (AGM)

When you are looking to hold an annual general meeting
(AGM), there are a variety of things to consider when
selecting an appropriate venue to host the gathering.  Not
only will you be looking for a suitable professional venue
to reflect the image and purpose of the company or trust,
you will also need to consider the availability of
professional and business support services, location and
accessibility, comfortable accommodations for meetings that
last days rather than a few hours, and the size of venue
that can hold your attendees.

Annual general meetings (AGM) for many companies and trust
organisations are major highlights of the business year
requiring a great deal of logistical organisation.  These
meetings also provide an opportunity to demonstrate to
shareholders and investors the results of business
performance over the last financial year as well as
management plans for the future.  It is essential that the
right venue be selected, as proper consideration in
choosing the venue to hold your annual general meeting will
pay good dividends.

Consider the number of attendees you are likely to expect,
and bear in mind that if you are a publicly listed company,
this may run into hundreds or thousands that may or may not
decide to turn up on the day.  You may be looking to
combine your annual general meeting with other company
related events such as a product launch, PR event, or
training courses that shareholders and staff may
participate in, and this also needs to be factored into
your decision for hosting the events.  Once you have a
realistic estimate of the number of attendees, consider the
ability of the venue to handle spillover numbers, not just
for seating capacity but also parking, food services, and
overnight guests.

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Myths And Mysteries Of Taking Minutes

Minute taking has changed over the years. The requirements
and expectations of the 21st century are very different
from the expectations even 10, but certainly 20 and 30
years ago. Here are some points for you to consider about
minutes and taking minutes.

• Minutes are written for people who were at the meeting,
not for people who were not! They are not designed to be a
story to tell everyone who was not at the meeting, what
went on. It may be smart to publish the key decisions but
that is all.

• Around 60% – 70% of the minute taker’s work is done
before the meeting begins. Most but not all of this work is
in the preparation of the agenda. The agenda is essentially
the draft minutes! Most experienced minute takers know this.

• If the minute taker is to do the job properly, then he or
she must be involved in physically preparing the agenda.
The Agenda is your secret weapon!

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How To Prepare A Modern Meeting Agenda

The agenda is the key to a successful meeting – it is the
roadmap, the guide, the plan. Studies have shown that up to
70% of meetings either have no agenda or have a poor agenda
which is not helpful. In this article, you will see that
there are some steps which you can take to make sure your
agenda will contribute to making your meeting more
productive. There are also hidden advantages. If the agenda
is well constructed, you will also spend less time in the
meeting and more time actually doing the things the meeting
determines need to be done!

1. Remember the key – the more detailed the agenda, the
more focussed and generally, the shorter the meeting will
be.

2. You cannot expect intelligent decisions if people do not
have time to think through the issues before the meeting.
Therefore, agendas need to be sent out in advance, not
given out at the meeting. People who have genuine desire to
reach the best decision, and people who are organised,
always have their agendas distributed in time for people to
give thought to the issues.

3. Adopt the strict policy that if an item is not on the
agenda, it will not be discussed at the meeting. Do not
allow items to be raised without notice. Allow only true
emergency items to be exempt and allow no other exceptions.
Organised people have no difficulty with this. It is only
disorganised or “slack” people who object to this because
they cannot get their act together. Research shows, that if
an item is raised without notice, the meeting will spend
time talking about it, but then defer the decision until
the next meeting anyway when there is notice given. It just
wastes time.

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What’s on Your Meeting Agenda?

Conducting great meetings depends on several activities
that occur before, during, and after each event. To help
you establish the conditions for success and attain the
very best results, this article lists essential tips on
using meeting notices, agendas, and summaries.

Use Meeting Notices to Alert Your Attendees

Meeting notices act as an “early warning system” for your
participants. You should use them regularly and give
recipients plenty of lead time — for example, at least a
week. Avoid surprising people with a last-minute summons
that disrupts their entire day. Be sure your meeting notice
includes all key information:

1) Meeting date
2) Starting and ending times
3) Purpose and objectives
4) List of participants
5) Location with directions or access instructions, and
6) Proposed agenda

That way, everyone will know exactly what to expect, what
to do, what their time commitment is, and what’s in it for
them!

Do All Meetings Need an Agenda?

You may be wondering whether an agenda is absolutely
necessary. The answer is, it depends!

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Modern Minute Taking

Minute Taking Has Changed Taking meeting minutes has been
around ever since businessmen and -women got together to
discuss their businesses. But taking meeting minutes is not
just a requirement of corporate entities or professional
businesses; schools, churches and other large organizations
have a secretary on staffs who takes minutes as well.
Professionals, whether they be part of a corporation, a
school, or a church know that effective minute taking is
essential for the smooth running of and for the success of
the organization. However, minute taking has been changing
with the times.

Just twenty years ago most of the technologies available in
the world today were absent. It is very apparent that
minute taking has moved together with the technological
advances. Taking minutes today is not the same as it was
twenty years ago; even ten years ago. Today’s effective
minute taker makes use of both the advancements in
technologies and the changing cultural environment of our
world. The effective minute taker moves along with the
changing times and stays ahead of the changing curve. Are
you sure your organization records its minutes in the most
effective way today? Here are a few points to consider
about taking minutes effectively in today’s fast paced and
changing world.

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People Who Run Good Meetings: They Really Do Exist!

Most people hate going to meetings.  They get tired of
wasting time, off-the-topic discussions, and generally not
accomplishing much.  Each meeting participant bears a
certain amount of responsibility in these situations, of
course, but the majority of the blame falls squarely on the
person charged with running, or facilitating, the meeting.

A good chair knows how to make sure the meeting proceeds
smoothly, makes the most of the time allowed, and that
everyone who participates feels valued and heard.

Common mistakes made by most people who run meetings Many
people who run meetings have little training. They will
make some common mistakes, such as:

• Running the meeting in a dictatorial style
• Giving his or her opinion first
• Viewing themselves as “in charge” or “the boss” of the
meeting
• Ignoring quiet people or those who don’t actively
participate
• Focus on the results they want, not the results that the
group wants

You have probably found yourself in meetings where these
behaviors are evident and you probably also know that those
meetings are not very productive. And perhaps you have even
done some of these things yourself when you were running a
meeting.

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