{"id":14863,"date":"2024-04-12T07:00:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/?p=14863"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:44:19","slug":"meeting-participant-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/meeting-participant-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Key Deliverables Every Meeting Participant Has the Right to Expect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even lousy movies and novels have three components: a beginning, a middle, and an end. A meeting participant (or ceremony, event, session, or workshop) should expect every session they attend to provide at least ten clear outputs. Seven clear results from the Introduction and three outputs from the Wrap.<\/h2>\n

Below is a checklist of the ten outputs a meeting participant should receive followed by detailed support for each.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Meeting<\/a>

Meeting Participant Checklist<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

1. Roles and Impact<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Facilitators should emphasize their own content neutrality and lack of bias.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The facilitator should stress that participants are all equal (put on your sweaters to hide rank and leave your egos and titles in the hallway)<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. The meeting impact should be quantified as to why the meeting is important, typically in currency (e.g., $,$$$,$$$.$$) and\/or FTP (Full-time People)<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    2. Meeting Purpose<\/b><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. An articulate statement of the Meeting Purpose (50 words or less).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    2. If the leader is unable to provide a clear statement of the meeting’s purpose, they are probably not ready to lead the meeting.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      3. Situational Scope<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
        \n
      1. An articulate statement of the Meeting Scope.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      2. This may have been combined in the Purpose statement if the scope is rather simple or concrete such as geographical.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      3. However, if the scope is complex as with many IoT (Internet of Things) products and services, then it should be separate.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      4. Keep in mind that scope creep kills projects and products.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      5. And scope creep begins in meetings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        4. Meeting Deliverables (Objectives)<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
          \n
        1. A narrative statement, illustration, or sample that provides a clear understanding of the output from the session.<\/span><\/li>\n
        2. Agilists refer to deliverables as DONE or what DONE looks like.<\/span><\/li>\n
        3. Optimally, the leader provides an example from a surrogate product, project, or template.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          5. Administrivia (Housekeeping)<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
            \n
          1. Covers contextual concerns, not related to the content of the deliverable.<\/span><\/li>\n
          2. Examples include:<\/span><\/li>\n
          3. Fire exits and safety evacuation procedures<\/span><\/li>\n
          4. Bathroom locations and frequency of breaks<\/span><\/li>\n
          5. Food and beverage provisions (if any)<\/span><\/li>\n
          6. They might include icebreakers here, or insert as a step eight<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            6. Basic Agenda\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
              \n
            1. In the Launch or Introduction, the leader should explain each of the agenda steps, focusing on:<\/span><\/li>\n
            2. What does the deliverable or DONE look like for each step?<\/span><\/li>\n
            3. Why the steps are provided in the sequence shown?<\/span><\/li>\n
            4. How each step relates to completing the deliverable and getting DONE.<\/span><\/li>\n
            5. While explaining they should prepare you for the timing and duration of breaks, lunch, or other non-meeting issues that could affect timing.<\/span><\/li>\n
            6. Optimally, the leader provides a metaphor or analogy explaining the relationship of the steps. You know that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures (and a story is worth a thousand metaphors).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              7. Ground Rules<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
                \n
              1. Ground rules should be provided if you want to get more done, faster.<\/span><\/li>\n
              2. \u201cBe Here Now\u201d because disabling electronic leashes reduces distractions.<\/span><\/li>\n
              3. \u201cSilence is Agreement\u201d applies in for-profit situations. If you are being paid to attend the meeting, speaking up is not an opportunity, it is an obligation.<\/span><\/li>\n
              4. \u201cMake Your Thinking Visible\u201d appropriately requests the cause behind the symptom, forcing all of us to provide evidence or objective proof of our claims.<\/span><\/li>\n
              5. See \u201cGround Rules and Ideation Rules for Optimal Group Behavior in Meetings<\/a>\u201d for a list of others you may want to request as a participant.<\/span><\/li>\n
              6. Unless icebreakers are inserted here, this step should conclude the Introduction.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                8. (Wrap) Review and Confirmation of the Meeting Output (Deliverable)<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
                  \n
                1. You are entitled to a complete review of the agreed-upon output from the meeting.<\/span><\/li>\n
                2. During the review, take the following questions into account:<\/span><\/li>\n
                3. What questions or issues of clarity do you have?<\/span><\/li>\n
                4. What is missing that may be critical, important, or substantive?<\/span><\/li>\n
                5. Even though the output (e.g., a decision) may not be your favorite, is the output robust enough that you will support it?<\/span><\/li>\n
                6. If not, what needs to be removed or modified?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  9. Open Issues (Parking Lot or Refrigerator)<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
                    \n
                  1. You are entitled to a complete review of the agreed-upon output from the session.<\/span><\/li>\n
                  2. Make sure you understand the Open Issue because frequently Open Issues are \u2018thrown\u2019 into the Parking Lot and may be somewhat cryptic.<\/span><\/li>\n
                  3. Be prepared to volunteer to take responsibility to report back to the group on the status of the Open Issue (you are not necessarily the \u2018doer\u2019).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    10. Guardian of Change (Communications Plan)<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
                      \n
                    1. Make sure the leader takes a few minutes to build agreement around what the participants are going to tell others was accomplished during the session.<\/span><\/li>\n
                    2. Typically, the message to your superior might be different than the message to other stakeholders such as employees or contractors.<\/span><\/li>\n
                    3. Try to ensure that it sounds like all the participants were in the same meeting together.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Here\u2019s a thumbnail of our approach to Structured Note Taking many find useful. Click HERE<\/a> to download the full-size PDF.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                      \"Structured<\/a>

                      Structured Note Taking<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

                      MIDDLE STEPS OF THE AGENDA<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

                      Here are the Basic Agendas for over 30 types of deliverables. Alumni can use their passwords to access the annotated versions in a .DOCX format, making them easy to modify. The annotated agendas include the following for EACH agenda step:<\/span><\/p>\n