Four agenda pitfalls to avoid
Agendas are everywhere. From set lists at concerts to roadmaps in Peloton classes, recipes in our cookbooks, and playbills at the theater.
Agendas do more than give us structure and certainty. They help us achieve a specific effect.
Composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda describes the agenda-creation process as asking, “What do the songs in this order do to [my audience's] heart?”
When it comes to corporate gatherings, agendas deserve more of our attention. Here are 4 common agenda pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Your agenda is too long
If your town hall, new hire orientation, or training agendas have ballooned from manageable to massive, you’re not alone.
Perhaps more is happening in the business to necessitate additional sessions. Or an initial call for presenters resulted in a double-sided spreadsheet. So, we shorten scheduled lunch breaks to accommodate the growing list of departments that want air time.
It’s easy for gatherings to quickly become big laundry lists of sessions and disparate topics. This is especially common in high-stakes gatherings with multiple stakeholders and opinions. The more people, the more content.
Agendas often balloon when the call for participation lacks clarity. Lack of clarity also makes it harder to say ‘no’. Instead of starting with a call for participation, start by clarifying your gathering’s desired effect.
Create even more clarity by creating a content litmus test or a filtering mechanism for your gathering. Here’s an example of how to filter content for your Company all-hands. Remember, clarity is kind.
You don’t have an agenda slide
A shockingly large number of gatherings don’t include an agenda slide. Uncertainty is dangerous for the brain. Don’t waste attendees' precious cognitive resources wondering what’s happening or what to expect - even if you think it’s obvious.
Be able to ask and answer what will attendees walk away with, and how will we achieve this?
Bonus: Even if we have an agenda slide we typically only show it once at the beginning which can make it harder to follow the flow of the gathering. This isn’t the most brain-friendly choice. Our brains like certainty and being able to predict what’s next. It’s like knowing where the dips are on a rollercoaster before you buckle your seatbelt.
Put your agenda slide between each section of your gathering highlighting where you are in the meeting.
Your agenda slide lacks significance
Typical agenda slides look like the agenda on the left. They highlight the content you’re sharing. This makes it easier for people to tune out when the section isn’t relevant to them, especially virtually.
Instead of crafting an agenda slide based on topics or content, craft one based on context, the outcome, and effect. Here are a few ways to do this:
Chunk the content into outcomes. Tell attendees what they will walk away with and what will be different from your time together
Instead of a list of sessions or topics, share the what, the how, and the why “here’s what you’ll walk away with, here’s how we’re going to get there, and why this matters to you”
Instead of topics, think of your agenda like a recipe. What is each step leading the attendees towards? Show them how all of the topics connect to one another and what the final product is.
It’s ok to give people a peek behind your process - they’ll be wondering where you’re headed so you might as well tell them.
You start with the agenda first
Curating an agenda is one of the last steps in gathering preparation - not the first. It’s like the bag you wrap a sandwich in - first you need the bread, the meat, hunger, etc.
When it comes time to craft your agenda, ensure a near-obsessive tie back to your desired outcomes and business objectives. For each desired outcome, plan one or more components: a discussion, experience, exercise, etc. Ask yourself, what do people need to do or know or be to achieve this outcome? What might be getting in the way?
Agendas may be normal in corporate gatherings, but not in comedy shows. Except if you’re comedian Hannah Gadsby.
The first 10 minutes of Gadsby’s most recent show Douglas begins by setting expectations. Gadsby lays it all out there - she tells the audience the flow of her show, how long each segment will be, what to expect, how they might react, and more.
Though this may seem unconventional Gadsby knows a good agenda serves a distinct purpose: it tells the audience they are in good hands. We can trust her.
This is what great agendas do. They create certainty and trust and remind us we are in good hands.
Lindsey Caplan is a screenwriter turned organizational psychologist who helps HR & business leaders create experiences that boost motivation, engagement, and performance