How to build an effective meeting agenda: templates, strategies, and implementation

Pek Mahajan

Have you ever attended a meeting not knowing what to expect? Have you ever sat through a meeting without knowing why you needed to be there? Do you attend meetings that don’t have a clear purpose or goals? Effective meetings utilize clear and collaborative meeting agendas to set expectations and prepare all attendees in advance. Learn more about the importance of preparing meeting agendas and how to build an effective agenda, and view our customizable meeting agenda templates for various types of meetings.

What is a meeting agenda?

A meeting agenda clearly explains the nature of the meeting, the goals of the meeting, as well as discussion topics and talking points. The agenda provides a structure so that all team members who will be attending the meeting can get on the same page about what will happen and what is expected of them. 

Advance planning and a predetermined structure help teams get the most out of each and every meeting. When team members are pulled away from their everyday tasks, distractions take hold, and productivity slows. That’s why it’s crucial for all meetings to have a clear time frame, structure, and purpose. 

The benefits of implementing effective meeting agendas:

  • Team members get on the same page about what’s expected
  • Meetings have a set schedule and don’t run overtime
  • Attendees understand the purpose and goals of the meeting
  • Attendees understand their meeting role and why they are needed
  • Additional materials or prework are given to attendees in advance
  • Anyone who is expected to speak has advance notice to prepare
  • Fewer unnecessary meetings are scheduled
  • The necessary people are invited to the meeting
  • The team is held accountable for action items

How to build an effective meeting agenda

Begin with a clearly defined purpose and meeting goals

Every meeting needs to have a clearly defined purpose; otherwise, no one will know what to expect from the meeting. If you don’t know why you are meeting, it could be that you don’t actually need to meet at all.

📚 Learn more in our article: Too many meetings? The good, the bad, and the unnecessary.

Set a clear meeting purpose as well as goals to keep the team on track. Understanding why you are meeting will also help you narrow down who needs to attend, how long the meeting should be, and the type of meeting that should take place. Based on your meeting goal, do you need a one-on-one meeting, all hands meeting, recurring daily standup, brainstorming session, or project meeting?

List discussion topics

List discussion topics with clarity and specificity, avoiding vague points that will leave people wondering what will actually be discussed. 

If a topic is going to be discussed, make sure it’s clear why it’s being discussed in order to guide the meeting. If “sales goals” is a discussion topic, be clear about the reason for this discussion item. Why are you discussing it and to what end? What’s the end goal of the discussion? Be specific and include all relevant details that will help the team understand the topic. Discussing “sales goals” might be better represented as: “Discuss how we can meet our Q4 sales goals,” or “Update the team on current sales goals and what needs to happen to meet those goals.”

Ensure discussion topics relate back to the overall purpose of the meeting. Always remember why you are meeting in the first place. If your planned discussion topics are already veering from the goals of your meeting, it will be tough to stay on track once the meeting begins.

💡 Agenda lists can streamline your time by helping you keep track of meeting topics in between meetings.

Assign talking points

The talking points of a meeting are questions or cues that move the meeting along and keep everyone on track. They often ask specific questions of a person or the group, such as early meeting conversation starters, clarifying questions, or requests for feedback.

Some recurring meetings, such as retrospectives, will have clear and consistent talking points that repeat each time.

Retrospective talking points might include:

  • What went well?
  • What didn’t go so well?
  • What can we improve upon for next time?

Recurring one-on-one talking points might include:

  • How are you feeling? What’s on your mind?
  • What have you accomplished since we last met?
  • Is there anything that’s holding you back?
  • Where do you need support?
  • What feedback do you have for me?

Collaborate & share with team members before the meeting

The most effective meeting agendas involve the entire team (or those attending the meeting.) This way, everyone feels included, and multiple perspectives are heard from.

Share meeting agendas well in advance to give people time to review the plan. This will inform people if they are expected to speak and help people prepare for the meeting ahead of time. Giving advance notice will allow time for collaboration if anyone has something to add or clarify about the agenda. It’s better to sort through questions and concerns and align on goals before the meeting begins to make the most of everyone’s time during the meeting.

How to utilize meeting agendas

Empower team members to own parts of the agenda

While the meeting organizer or team leader may be in charge of setting up and distributing the meeting agenda, it should be a process that every attendee is a part of.

Involve the team as much as possible in the meeting agenda process to foster accountability. Attendees need to be able to (and should) suggest discussion topics, add action items, and voice concerns as they come up so that the meeting agenda is developed collaboratively, rather than one person rambling on at the group. 

Check off discussion topics and monitor timing

Follow the meeting agenda from one discussion topic to the next. Ensure nothing is skipped over and make note of any side topics that occur and why they came up. You can use your previous agenda to improve your process and estimate the meeting duration the next time around.

Following from one topic to the next will also help keep the team on track. Ensure someone is monitoring the allotted time and the number of discussion topics that are left so that the meeting sticks to the predetermined time frame. A meeting that runs long can have lasting effects on people’s day, and it could make them late for other important commitments.

Assign action items as they come up

Action! It’s not enough to just discuss a topic. An effective meeting will result in clear action items, so that team members all leave knowing exactly what is expected of them.

Treat the agenda as a living document that keeps track of all action items coming out of a meeting. Don’t rely on your memory or the memory of your team. Put it in writing in whatever way your team keeps track of tasks and assignments to ensure you have a method for follow-up and accountability after the meeting concludes.

🎉 We recommend using Charma for managing meetings all in one place. It's a meeting management system that allows teams to align on meeting schedules, discussion topics, action items, and follow-up. Whether you’re scheduling one-on-one meetings, team meetings, or virtual meetings, Charma will keep all team members engaged, productive, and aligned.

Gather feedback and assess your processes

Gathering continuous feedback should be part of all of your business processes—we can’t stress this enough.

Regular feedback will help you improve your systems, ensuring the status quo doesn’t take over. It’s easy to fall into a pattern with recurring meetings where the same old continues even though there’s a better way of doing things. Your recurring meeting may not need to be as long as it is, you could be inviting the wrong attendees, or you may find you no longer need the meeting at all once you hear from the team.

At the end of a meeting, you should ask for quick feedback from those involved. What went well? What didn’t go so well? Does anyone have any ideas that could improve the meeting for next time?

Meeting agenda templates for different meeting types

One-on-one meetings

One-on-one meetings are often recurring meetings, so the format of the meeting agenda is likely to repeat from one meeting to the next. The purpose and context may be the same, but the discussion topics will evolve based on current projects, feedback, and the needs of both people involved in the meeting.

Charma one-on-one meeting agenda template


A one-on-one meeting agenda should include:

  • Logistics (who, where, when, and time allotted)
  • Meeting purpose/goals/objectives
  • Previous meeting action items
  • Discussion topics (including time for mutual feedback)
  • Action items (with clear timelines)

Project meetings

Project meetings zero in on one main purpose—moving a project forward. Depending on how far along you are in the project, the meeting format and agenda may look quite different. In the early stages, you may need more time for brainstorming, decision making, and team alignment. Later on, project meetings may focus more on team check-ins, progress updates, and navigating project roadblocks.

A team meeting agenda should include:

  • Logistics (who, where, when, and time allotted)
  • Meeting purpose/goals/objectives
  • Meeting materials or prework (prepared project updates)
  • Discussion topics (including who is required to speak)
  • Potential roadblocks (what’s hindering the project's progress?)
  • Action items (with clear ownership and timelines)

All hands team meetings

All hands meetings bring a business team or the entire company together for updates and team alignment. These meetings may be recurring, they may happen when the team is kicking off a project, or they may occur when the team needs to realign on common goals. The meeting agenda will change depending on the reason for the meeting, but it will generally include company updates and successes that motivate the team. Ensure everyone understands the purpose of the meeting, what will be discussed, and who is required to speak before the meeting is held.

Create your own meeting agenda template


An all hands team meeting agenda should include:

  • Logistics (who, where, when, and time allotted)
  • Meeting purpose/goals/objectives
  • Meeting materials or prework (prepared project updates)
  • Company wins to celebrate
  • Company or team updates
  • Discussion topics (including who is required to speak)
  • Action items (with clear ownership and timelines)

Retrospective meeting

Retrospective meetings generally occur after a project is complete to assess how everything went. These meetings are designed to wrap up a project and gather insights that the team can utilize for next time.

A retrospective meeting agenda should include:

  • Logistics (who, where, when, and time allotted)
  • Project review and any relevant discussion topics (including who is required to speak)
  • What went well?
  • What didn’t go well?
  • What can be learned for next time?
  • Action items (if needed to ensure insights are carried over into the next project)

Manage meeting agendas with Charma

Beloved by managers, HR, executives, and ICs alike, Charma is the best practice toolkit for managers to organize, motivate, and engage their teams. Find tools and AI to help you manage agendas for both one-on-one meetings and team meetings, action items, team collaboration, 360 reviews, continuous feedback & recognition, and goals — all in one place.

Check out our resources for articles, guides, and success stories dedicated to running efficient and effective teams. If you have any questions about anything you read or how to utilize Charma, reach out to our team at any time.

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