I recently gave a presentation at the Arcadia Innovation Summit on how school administrators can use G Suite to communicate better and increase their productivity. Below is one of the ideas that I shared for increasing communication before a meeting. Enjoy!

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Have you ever received a calendar invite like the one on the below? If so chances are you were not 100% clear about what the meeting was about. You know that the meeting is about the Math Curriculum but what about it? Are we thinking about replacing it? Are we looking to possibly modify it? Also where are we meeting? Do we have an agenda? Is there anything that I need to do prior to the meeting?

Now let’s check out this calendar invite. The meeting has the same title but the invite now includes more information. Remember that over communication is good communication.

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When creating a meeting invite with Google Calendar you will want to make sure you include:

• The meeting location. If you use common meeting spaces at your school talk with your G Suite administrator about setting up a calendar for a shared space (instructions for setting this up). Setting this up will help avoid double booking of rooms.
• A brief description as to why you are meeting. No one should enter the meeting without knowing the purpose of the meeting.
• Your desired outcomes for the meeting. Your desired outcomes are what you hope to accomplish by the end of the meeting.
• If necessary any prework that needs to get done beforehand to ensure a productive meeting. This is not necessary but it can be helpful if you are limited on time to meet.

For more ideas on how to run effective meetings check out Momentum by Mamie Kanfer Stewart and Tai Tsao.