Planning Effective Meetings:

If you can recollect the last meeting you attended, how much was really accomplished? Were you able to complete your stated goals? Were your opinions fully conveyed? Did you have enough time? If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, then it probably means that you need to restructure your meetings.
Despite the fact that almost nobody really wants to attend, let alone organize, another meeting, you need to communicate effectively as a group in order to ensure that the work gets done, people and equipment get contracted, site locations get reserved, and in short that your Grad Night Party survives. The best way to accomplish this is with face-to-face meetings, which are ORGANIZED!

The Secret to Productive Meetings:
Everyone involved in the planning of Grad Night Party needs to take an active role and be involved in the aforesaid planning. More importantly, however, is that they also need to feel as though they are involved and that their hard work and opinions do matter and are necessary. Remember, members who have had little to do with the decision-making process will have even less enthusiasm in carrying them out!

So, the question is, how do you make your meetings more productive and interesting? The answer is simple — encourage your group members to become more involved in the decision-making process, and be open to everyone’s ideas, no matter how far fetched they are or how much better their ideas may sound than yours.

Scheduling Meetings:
Plan your meeting at least two weeks in advance. People are busy and need time to arrange their schedules. Try to make the meetings either during a weekday around 7 or 8 P.M. or during the weekend sometime in the midmorning or afternoon, 10 A.M. to noon. Adhere to your scheduling agenda, but also allow for flexibility in your meeting planning.

Meetings should last no more than one hour. One hour meetings ensure that the work gets done and that people do not feel that they are giving up too much time. Also, you are forced to conduct more meetings throughout your allotted timetable, which helps to establish a routine and keeps you from waiting until the last minute to plan everything.

Lastly, it may take time for your group to adjust, and as such, you must allow time for this. Once your members become accustomed to the nuisances of the other people within your group, they can begin to develop a sense of unity and work together towards the accomplishment of the task at hand. The object here is to establish team spirit and help foster group unity so that everyone will be working together, with the same purpose, and share in the rewards of a job well done.

Rules for Effective Meetings:
Provide a Written Agenda — An agenda is a list of things to be done at a meeting. This is a map, or outline, that helps you get to where you want to go without getting lost. It should list:

The time the meeting is to start and end
Date and location of the meeting
Topics and issues to be discussed
The order in which the topics and issues are to be discussed
The person responsible for each topic and issue
The minutes of the last meeting
The priority of each topic and issue
The completion of, or the status of, each topic and issue
Limit Attendance — Try to keep the attendance at meetings limited to only those who need to be present. A current trend is to structure meetings so that people can come and go during the meeting, in relation to the importance of their participation. Group size is very important; small groups tend to lack the resources and diversity needed to be effective, while large groups suffer from an overabundance of opinions.

Use a Visual Memory Aid — Most organizations have a secretary record minutes and have them read at the next meeting. This is not the most effective way to ensure understanding and elicit participation from members. Notes should be taken and displayed during meetings on a blackboard or flip-pad. This enables the group to confirm, or clarify, any discrepancies between the written record and what the group actually perceives or intends.

Other Steps to Effective Meetings:
Be genuinely interested in others’ ideas and opinions. If you respect others’ opinions, they are more likely to respect yours. Inject a bit of humor into the meeting. Sharing a laugh together strengthens the group's feeling of unity. Recognize individual member contributions. Sincere appreciation of other's efforts in front of the group will generate enthusiasm and creative thinking. Work to integrate more reserved members into active participation in group discussions and decisions. Often, those who say the least are the most worth hearing.
Maintain your focus. Allow enough freedom to investigate ideas as they are presented, but stick to your agenda and concentrate on the job at hand. Don't let one or two people dominate your meetings.
This is just one example of how to plan your meetings. You may need to adjust the above criteria to accommodate all the individuals involved, but you should still hold true to the principles outlined above. Most importantly, remember to have fun and remind yourself why you are planning this event and how spectacular it is going to be!

Forming Leadership:
Choosing a leader(s) for your group should be a quick and easy procedure. Do not let politics or internal fighting break down your planning process. If there are members within your group who wish to take on the role of "leader," provided there are no objections, then let them do so.

The number of leaders should be limited to a few people. If there are more than a few members who wish to lead, try to work out a quick solution. However, if this begins to drag on, then a confidential vote should be taken with a simple majority in favor of a winner. In the event of a tie, simply flip a coin and move on.
The key skill for effective leadership within a group is listening, not only hearing the words, but to what is actually being said. Group members should also be encouraged to listen effectively and to address what they hear. Every member, and especially the group’s leader(s), must truly believe in the group's ability to address and resolve its differences, or all work will become long and tedious.

Whenever any discrepancies appear, it is up to the leader(s) of the group to resolve the issue(s) in question. The leader(s) of the group has final say on all matters of contention. It is important for the group not to get bogged down with petty details.

Lastly, remember, everyone involved with the planning is probably volunteering their time and services, and as such, will only tolerate so much. The leader(s) of the group is not suppose to be a jail warden, but the pillar of strength the group will turn to when it needs direction and support!