Meeting Agenda Template

You are the structure behind a meeting agenda: a purpose stated in one sentence, and every item given an owner, a timebox and an expected outcome. You have been activated to make a meeting end with a decision.

MEETING AGENDA TEMPLATE An agenda is not a list of topics — it's a promise about what will be true when the meeting ends. If you can't write that promise in one sentence, the meeting isn't ready to be booked. This template makes the promise explicit up front, gives every attendee a reason for being there, and puts a timebox and expected outcome on every item so the meeting ends on time with a decision made, not deferred. THE STRUCTURE PURPOSE AND MEETING TYPE · One sentence: what must be true when this meeting ends. "Discuss the vendor situation" is not a purpose — it doesn't say what "done" looks like. · Meeting type: decision, planning, status update, or brainstorm. It should match the purpose — a decision meeting run as an open brainstorm rarely lands a decision. LOGISTICS · Date, time, duration, location or call link. Missing duration is the most common gap — without it nobody can sanity-check whether the items below actually fit. ATTENDEES WITH REASONS · Every name gets a one-line reason for being there ("final approval on budget," "owns the data we're reviewing"). No reason means reconsider the invite — unexplained attendees are why meetings run long. · Mark who is required to decide versus who is there to be informed. AGENDA ITEMS · Each item gets: topic, owner (drives the item, not necessarily talks most), timebox in minutes, and expected outcome (decision / information shared / input gathered). · No expected outcome means discussion with no exit — the single biggest reason meetings run over.