There are good meetings and there are bad meetings. Good meetings run smoothly, accomplish the purpose, and leave members feeling satisfied. Bad meetings drag on and often leave members wondering why they even came at all. Inevitably, you have probably been in both of these types of meetings and can easily spot the difference. Because meetings are the cornerstone of any PBL chapter’s success, it is important that your meetings fall into the first of the two categories.

The success of any meeting begins long before the pounding of the gavel. All chapter officers should be in communication prior to every meeting. They should meet sometime before each general meeting for an officer meeting. During this meeting, the general meeting agenda and the previous meetings minutes should be prepared. When preparing the agenda, first decide upon the purpose of the meeting. If there is no purpose, then a general meeting is not even needed because it would probably fit into the “bad meeting” category. After deciding on the purpose of the meeting, make a list of things that need to be announced or discussed. Clarify, combine, and prioritize these items, remembering to take into consideration the time limit set that you have set for the meeting. Most meetings should not last longer than 15 or 20 minutes, not including any guest speakers. Follow the set order of business when placing these items on the agenda. The meeting agenda and minutes should follow a general enough form so they are easily understandable. Below, you can find examples of both an agenda and minutes.

Sample Meeting Minutes and Agenda

The agenda should read more like an outline, letting members understand the overall structure of the meeting. Minutes should consist of brief sentences that accurately describe the business conducted at the previous meeting. A suggestion for these two items is to make a handout for all members with the agenda on the front and the previous meeting’s minutes on the back. It is a common courtesy to do so and will let members leave with something tangible to remember the content of the meeting.

Now that the difficult part is out of the way, all that is left is actually running the meeting. Before the meeting starts, make sure someone, usually the secretary, is taking notes so that the meeting’s minutes can be easily put together later. After that is taken care of, the president can pound the gavel and start the meeting. The president should make sure that the agenda is followed and that any discussions or brainstorming sessions are well controlled. This will ensure that the meeting does not run too long.

If you plan your meetings out ahead of time and stick to the set order of business, you should have no problems running an effective meeting. Good luck!