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The way that meetings are run will affect how members become and stay involved in your association.  If meetings rarely start on time or are dominated by a few people, members will become frustrated and stop coming.  In a well run meeting,  people’s opinions are respected and the agenda is followed. A well run meeting will encourage members to participate in other activities of the association. Meeting Arrangements Choose a time and day for your meeting when it will be convenient for most people to attend – for neighborhood meetings, weekday evenings often work well, as do Saturday mornings. Choose a location that will be convenient for most of the people attending the meeting.  Reserve a comfortable room, large enough to accommodate the number of expected attendees. Rooms are available at the City of Plano Municipal Building as well as in many churches, schools, libraries, and recreation centers. The best seating layout will depend on the type of meeting you are planning.  For example, if you are having a guest speaker, the best arrangement may be to have all the chairs facing  the front of the room but if your meeting will be focused on a discussion a circle of chairs may be a better layout. Agendas When planning your meeting, it is important to establish the agenda or purpose.  In other words, why are you meeting? The agenda provides structure for the meeting and can serve as a guide to encourage and limit discussion where appropriate. Decide not only what to discuss, but also how long and in what order you will discuss the items.  When listing agenda items include a time limit - your estimate may be over (or under) for some items but you will at least have a frame of reference to evaluate how the meeting is progressing. Consider scheduling emotional or controversial issues towards the end of the meeting so that you can focus on other small, but necessary decisions early in the meeting.  Avoid putting too many topics on the agenda. Try to stay within 1 1/2 hours, including some time for refreshments and mingling.  Running a Meeting Start the meeting on time.  Don’t penalize those who are on time by making them wait for latecomers.  If a number of people are late, begin the meeting with less important agenda items; this way you can reinforce the behavior of those who arrive on time without excluding those who are late. Make sure someone takes the minutes or records the meeting.  If you do not have a secretary, rotate this task.    Tips for Dealing with Difficult People When a point is being discussed too long: Summarize or table the question for a later time. If a discussion between two group members becomes too heated: Summarize points made by each person and turn the discussion back to the group.   Invite the individuals to stay after the meeting when the three of you can talk it over. If one person dominates the conversation: If you know that an individual tends to dominate the conversation, head them off early by saying something like, "I know you have strong opinions about this, Frank.  Why don't we start off taking a minute for you to tell us what you think the issues are?" Interrupt with a statement giving the speaker credit for his contribution but politely asking him to hold his other points until later. When a speaker drifts from the subject: Interrupt, giving credit for the idea but explaining that they have departed from the main point. Ask the group the question of whether it wants to stray from the outline or follow it. Bring the discussion back to the topic by using the related idea as the transition. When a member has difficulty in expressing herself: Build up her confidence by expressing appreciation for what she has said and then rephrase her material with a preface, such as, “Is this what you mean, Ms. Jones?” Participation Set realistic expectations for attendance. People have a wide variety of interests and may not be interested in attending every meeting. Create a welcoming and respectful atmosphere at your meetings.  All members bring value to your group.  Consider establishing a Membership Committee to focus on recruiting new members.  Be realistic about what people can do given the other responsibilities in their lives.  Respect all contributions, no matter how small. Ending the Meeting Don't let your meeting just fizzle out.  End on time (or as close as possible) with a plan of action.  Ask committees to research an issue and report back to the group.  Summarize what has been decided.  Then, decide on the date, time and place for the next meeting before members leave.