Hidden Elements to running a great meeting

There are alot of “hidden elements” to running an energetic, professional, & intentional meeting.  When we run high quality meetings it adds value.  Here are just a few of the key hidden elements

Pre Meeting
-laminated agendas on table The Referrals Group Meeting Agenda
-referral report (since last meeting) up on TV/AV screen

I also suggest having 4 Tabs on your web browser pre loaded for:
-presenter info
-referral report since last meeting
-education article/video
-recruitment template (from downloads tab, if not on back of laminated agendas) 

The Meeting

Starting the meeting:
Start meeting 5-10 minutes after your official start time.   Smile, speak to back of the room.
Begin by welcoming members & guests
I recommend taking 30 seconds to explain what will happen at the meeting today

Speaker
run a timer
Set it for 13 minutes, have it count down.  When it goes off give the speaker a 2 minutes warning to Q&A.   Give 5 minutes for questions.  Once that is up it needs to be a hard stop.
-Questions are important.  Often times some of the best referral opportunities come from questions.

Referral Report
-Refresh the report & put on the screen when you begin Q&A for the speaker.
Facilitating the report:
-remind members to be in the Referrals tab on their phone/laptop
-go top down or bottom up.  Start with the sender.    Ex:  Jane you sent 3 referrals, tell us about them”
-Encourage members to tell us about the scenario:  How they identified the referral & how they connected the parties.

*in groups over 15 I recommend standing by the screen

Group Business
-remember to enter attendance. Then go over the upcoming speaker rotation (Meetings & Attendance Tab)
*if theere are any speaker changes please let your Referrals Group rep know so we can updaate the rotation on the back end

Education (4-6 minutes)
-begin by explaining why they picked this article/video
-Play video &/or present article (AV/TV or handout)
-end by asking, “What did you learn that was helpful?”  *get 2-3 members to participate

Recruitment (3 minutes)  
pre/in meeting:  recruitment chair send out invite script (text it & update dates)
run a timer
Take 60 seconds to brainstorm spots.
Then go around the room….Ask members what profession/profession they invited…keep this moving

Final minute  
-Who do we need to do a Face-2-Face with to get to know?”
-Who are we ready to vote on for membership?”   *handle post meeting.  Votes can be done via group text

Announcements/Reminderst (1-2 minutes)
-tag-a-long networking opportunites, group social, events in the area of value.  watch your time.

Outros  *run a timer
-pick a direction to go around the room. Don’t leadoff with a guest. They need to see what we are doing. You can go members first, then guests last

Adjourn the meeting:
remind members/guests of next meeting, encourage members to setup face-to-face meetings, & thank everyone for coming