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The following are the top 5 tips for arranging a successful meeting, regardless of the specific topic or specific business. Following these tips will help to ensure the most productive and fruitful meetings possible.

1. Arrange the meeting early. When setting up a meeting, giving all of the potential attendees as much advance notice as possible will increase the likelihood that the meeting will be well attended. In addition, should one of the key participants find the initially suggested meeting time inconvenient, having arranged the meeting early gives other attendees the greatest amount of time possible to find alternate meeting times that are workable. Since the most successful meetings are those at which all of the critical participants attend, planning ahead is integral to success.
2. Provide attendees with a written agenda ahead of the meeting. Giving participants a written agenda increases the probability that attendees will come to the meeting prepared to discuss the topics that the meeting’s organizer has defined as being the primary discussion points. This practice will help to avoid confusion as to the purpose of the meeting and can help to steer the meeting to the critical points as the meeting progresses. Providing the agenda ahead of time allows attendees to comment on the agenda and to bring a written copy with them. Giving participants the ability to voice any concerns about the agenda prior to the meeting means that should these concerns surface during the meeting, they are more easily dismissed. In addition, because written copies are available both before and during the meeting (bringing additional copies of the agenda to the meeting is a good practice), attendees can take notes directly on the agenda and have prepared issues.
3. Schedule meetings with the schedules of attendees in mind. If the participants in the meeting tend to be busiest early in the day, scheduling a meeting before noon, will have two effects: it may ensure that the meeting will not run past its scheduled time (a benefit) and it may result in participants who are not thoroughly engaged (a detriment). Conversely, meetings scheduled later in the day may be freer to run their course, but participants may be tired and less engaged than they would be earlier. Having a good sense of the schedules of the attendees can lead to a more successful meeting.
4. Use electronic scheduling whenever possible. In the internet age, more and more systems allow meeting organizers to invite attendees electronically. As systems become more integrated, w-mail programs and linked to cell phone and planners, and each communicate with each other. The advantage of using such a system for organizing a meeting is that, in most cases, the meeting will be automatically added to the invitees’ schedules, reminders will be set, and full attendance will become more likely. Furthermore, because of the ease involved in using such systems, attendees will have an easier time participating ahead of the meeting which may have a subtle or dramatic impact on their attitudes upon attending the meeting.
5. Be prepared for changes. The single most important characteristic to be emulated by individuals in all types of commercial endeavors is to be adaptable. As the pace of business continues to accelerate, those with a penchant for change and an ability to seamlessly integrate new methodologies and approaches into their repertoires will have the highest likelihood to succeed. For example, if one has arranged to have an in-person meeting, having a contingency plan to allow some, or all, of the attendees to participate remotely can make the difference between a successful meeting and one that must be rescheduled.

Following these top tips for arranging a meeting can have a dramatic impact of the level of success of a meeting.