{"id":2252,"date":"2015-05-14T00:01:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T04:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terrencemetz.com\/?p=2252"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:45:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:45:10","slug":"purposes-of-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/purposes-of-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"94 Different Purposes of Meetings Yield Three Common Themes"},"content":{"rendered":"

While by no means \u2018exhaustive,\u2019 we researched and assembled various meeting types and purposes of meetings<\/a> from dozens of sources, too many to provide attribution for a brief blog (write us if you want more detail). Therefore, we found it humorous that the world does not even agree on the definition of a \u2018type.\u2019<\/span><\/h2>\n

We discovered the purposes of meetings or meeting types are stratified by numerous factors, topologies, and types. However, you will discover three dominant themes that include planning, decision-making (prioritization), and problem-solving:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"purpose<\/a>

Illustration of Author After Completing This Article on the 94 Purposes of Meetings<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Stratification\u00a0Factors Behind the Purposes of Meetings<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Audience<\/a> (e.g., shareholder vs. stakeholder)<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Deliverable<\/a> (output)<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Location (onsite vs. offsite)<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Meeting leader role (manager vs. facilitator<\/a>)<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Outcome (desired)<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Resource (e.g., production vs. project<\/a>)<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Rules<\/a> (e.g., open vs. private)<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Size (quantity of participants and size of venue)<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Style<\/a> (e.g., face-to-face vs. virtual)<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Timing (variations included chronology, duration, frequency, and preparation time)<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. Topic (e.g., financial review vs. party), and<\/span><\/li>\n
  12. Variants of the above<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Possible Topology for the Purposes of Meetings<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Some sources provided context and justified their topology. We especially love the following comment because it is so definitive, albeit wrapped in truth (sources -Seth Godin and others):<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThere are three types of meetings. Meetings are marketing in real time with real people. Therefore, a conference is not a meeting. A conference is a chance for a circle of people to interact. There are only three kinds of classic meetings:<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      This is a meeting where attendees are informed about what is happening (with or without their blessing). While there may be a facade of conversation, it’s primarily designed to inform.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      This is a meeting where the leader actually wants feedback or direction or connections. You can use this meeting to come up with an action plan, or develop a new idea, for example.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      This is a meeting where the other side is supposed to say yes but has the power to say no.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      —OR—<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

      \u201cWhile there are a variety of reasons to call for a group meeting (some of which have little to do with decision making or problem solving), for our purposes we will categorize decision-making meetings into one of the following.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Strategy<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Problem solving<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Operational<\/a> decisions<\/span><\/li>\n
      4. Evaluation\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        —OR—<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

        \u201cThere are six types of meetings:<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

          \n
        1. \n

          Organizational meetings;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

        2. \n

          Regular meetings;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

        3. \n

          Special or emergency meetings;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

        4. \n

          Work sessions;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

        5. \n

          Public hearings; and<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

        6. \n

          Executive sessions.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          We did little to clean up or edit the following and did not attempt to defend it, but rather to share it. Therefore, when redundancies were obvious, we combined some definitions. Additionally, some purposes of meetings or meeting types were provided without definition. Some purposes of meetings or meeting types may appear redundant, but due to rhetorical differences, we could not be certain if they were identical or not, so we kept them as discrete purposes of meetings or meeting types.<\/span><\/p>\n

          The 94 types or purposes of meetings we identified are as follows.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n