How can you prepare an effective agenda for your consulting meetings with remote teams?

In my experience, whether the team is remote or not doesn't change how you structure your agenda. Key factors are: 1. Provide context (if needed). If there's any info the attendees should be aware of before coming into the meeting, a couple of sentences would be very helpful. 2. What's this meeting about? Clearly state purpose & objective(s). 3. State who's involved. Often times, people wonder if they're really needed in a meeting. If their name is against an agenda item, you eliminate the possibility of confusion! 4. Time slots. If the meeting is longer than 30 mins, I think each agenda item should be time-boxed. Not only is it helpful for attendees, but it's also helpful for you as the organizer to not fall behind.

Defining a meeting's purpose in the beginning and objectives sets its goals and desired outcomes, providing focus, clarity, and a basis for progress measurement.

Clarify each role at the beginning, always take your own notes, everyone has a different perspective means that for some complex project the understanding can also be different, it's important to clarify each role, then each next step for everyone.

Without a clear structure to a meeting, it's hard to see progress or value. I like to use a meeting structure that helps demonstrate progress and value. During each meeting, break the agenda down into three sections: Past, Present, and Future. For each section, use a bullet-point structure. Write 3-5 bullet points for each section. Section 1: Past Briefly discuss what you’ve already accomplished. This shows the client that you’ve made progress. Section 2: Present Discuss what you will be working on over the next few days or weeks. This keeps the client up to speed, and makes sure you’re on the same page. Section 3: Future This is where you can add value. As you discuss the next steps, consider where you can add even more value.

3 strategies I do to communicate the agenda and expectations: - If I am leading the meeting I make sure I share the meeting agenda with colleagues - If there is any areas we need to discuss, I prepare the material with time and send the documents early for team review and preparation. - The meeting agenda always have the roles and responsibilities defined in the previous meetings.