Bringing members to your meetings can be surprisingly challenging, particularly as students get busier with schoolwork—honestly, free pizza starts to lose its appeal about two months in to the semester. Here are some tips to make your meetings both effective and engaging:
- Make meetings roundtables rather than lectures if at all possible – make group decisions, delegate assignments, and discuss projects together. This becomes easier as responsibilities are more equally divided.
- Use a facilitator to keep meetings short and simple. Plans are made, updates are presented, tasks are delegated, and then we can all have a good time and hang out together.
- Have an agenda and stick to it – limit topics to be addressed and the number of speakers.
- If you keep getting sidetracked, write down good ideas to address later, at the end of the meeting or in the next meeting.
- Offer diverse activities at larger meetings, including personally engaging activities (write letters, make posters, let students present on topics they care about).
- Know your audience. If attendees are curious students, don’t let discussion go over their heads. If attendees are engaged experts, give them responsibility and don’t bore them. Always consider how attendees’ talents are best utilized.
- Be sure to collect names and contact information!
Sample Meeting Structure
- Intros with interesting news or question (favorite quote, flavor of ice cream, travel plans?)
- Announcements
- Pressing business to discuss (updates, report backs from previous events or meetings)
- Upcoming events—plan logistics, delegate tasks,
- Anything else
- Evaluation—offer a space for analyzing the meeting: what worked, what should be changed, and any other commendations, concerns, or thoughts.
