How to write an effective agenda topic

Attendees should be able to read an agenda topic and understand exactly what the discussion will be about. Writing a good agenda topic only takes a little longer than writing a bad agenda topic, but it will have a large impact on how productive your meeting is.

Use details and action words

Good topics have 2 common elements: details and action words. To write a good topic, be specific in what you want to discuss, and always include an action word like decide, announce, or approve.

If you're struggling with what details and action words to use, it helps to works backwards. Imagine the ideal outcome of a topic's discussion, and use that outcome as the topic itself.

To test how well your topics are written, imagine your attendees receiving a copy of your agenda before the meeting. Will they understand what needs to be accomplished during each topic's discussion?

Why should you write your topics like this?

The better an agenda topic is written, the better prepared attendees will be to discuss it. If a topic is vague, attendees won't know what to expect when they review the agenda. They won't be able to think about the topic in advance and they'll walk into the discussion unprepared.

A second benefit is your discussion will be focused. A good topic - one that uses details and action words - describes what outcome needs to be reached. This guides everyone towards that goal and prevents off-topic detours. If your topic is just Ad budget, it's easy for attendees to bring up irrelevant issues related to this topic. But if your topics is Decide whether we need a bigger or smaller ad budget in February, it's very clear what the goal of the discussion is.

Use details and action words in your next agenda

Try using these tips in your next agenda. It should only take a few more minutes to make sure each topic is specific and uses an action word, but it will help you run a better meeting.