When fuel prices hit a record high, the darts team at the Pig & Whistle called an emergency meeting to discuss ways of increasing revenue to cover the extra cost of transporting them to their away fixtures. The chairman wanted to hold a civilised meeting with a proper agenda but the rank and file had other ideas. Only five minutes into the meting it was announced that the bar was open and a scramble to the serving hatch ensued.

Determined to conduct the meeting properly, the chairman addressed the throng at the hatch, asking who would be taking minutes. This prompted a retort from one member, who observed, "Never mind who's taking minutes, the barmaid is taking hours." Proceedings closed, with a unanimous vote for a fundraising seventies disco, but the whole affair had been more of an open discussion than a properly conducted meeting.

This is fine in the world of pub darts but in the more hard-nosed world of modern business some form of protocol should be adhered to. Even planning a meeting requires a considerable amount of careful thought. Here are a few pointers that will help you to set up a successful meeting.

Who's coming?
Long before the meeting takes place there are two crucial questions you need to answer:

1) Who will be coming to the meeting?

2) How will I inform them of it?

When drawing up a list of attendees you should look at each one individually and ask if that person's presence at the meeting is really necessary. When you have compiled your list, take a few moments to think of any other possible attendees you may have missed out. When you are happy that your list is complete you should send them details of the meeting.

The easiest way to do this is by email, as all of the attendees can be notified with only a single mail being sent. The email should contain the date and time of the meeting, a list of attendees, the subject and purpose of the meeting, and location and contact details.

It may pay you to set up a mail opened notification so that if anyone hasn't opened their mail as the meeting date approaches you can call them. A call to each attendee on the day of the meeting would remind them and notify you of anyone who cannot make it.

Run to Time
Punctuality is important. If the designated start time arrives and there are absentees you should begin without them. You may be tempted to 'give it another five minutes', but this would send out the wrong signals. To wait for absentees will indicate to those who have made the effort to arrive on time that they needn't have bothered. It will also tell those who arrive late that the world does in fact run at their convenience and so repeat late showings would probably follow.

It may also be that the meeting room has been hired for a specific length of time and so proceedings should begin as planned in order to avoid rushing matters at the end to fit them in.

Meet and Greet
I'm sure you've all been into a certain supermarket where there is someone employed to stand at the entrance and greet customers with a smile and a cheery hello. The thinking behind this is that a friendly greeting will lift the mood of the shopper and, to put it bluntly, a happy shopper will spend more freely than an unhappy one.

The same logic should be applied at the start of your meeting. You should always welcome those who turn up and thank them for giving up their time in order to attend. This is not merely an act of politeness; showing appreciation for the efforts of the attendees will increase their sense of value at the meeting and, like the happy shoppers in that supermarket, make them more likely to contribute to proceedings.

With all of the attendees present and feeling positive, you are ready to start the meeting. The groundwork you have done in setting it up should help things run more smoothly and the meeting should finish on time. If you were to organise a meeting without paying attention to any of the advice above, it would be a pretty disorganised affair on a par with the meeting of the Pig & Whistle's darts team.