Most business meetings include from two to six people and can be held in a private office or in a department conference room. When more than six participants attend a meeting, they are usually more comfortable sitting around a table in a conference room than sitting in a private office.

Informal office meetings are usually scheduled by telephone. A supervisor asks an administrative assistant to call several people and arrange a short meeting.

Formal office meetings are usually scheduled via s or memorandums that are sent to the participants well in advance. A few days before the meeting date, the office administrator sends a reminder and the final agenda to all participants, who need to confirm their attendance before a deadline. If they are unable to attend, they should provide a reason.

Meetings require careful preparation, but having sufficient time to plan a meeting is frequently a luxury. So you should establish a basic plan for meetings and keep it in your files. Whenever your boss asks you to arrange a meeting, your plan will be ready.

A room with a large central table is often called a conference room. A conference room may have a whiteboard on a wall and a built-in screen for use with slides and/or films, and overhead projectors for computer presentations. If the participants of the meeting need flipcharts, the secretary should also arrange that. Conference rooms may have built-in microphones to record a meeting or for audio-conferencing. Some conference rooms have television equipment and/or equipment for two way video-conferencing.

Each person attending the meeting should have a copy of the agenda, which is a list of the items to be discussed at a meeting. Prior to the meeting, it is best to send a copy of the agenda to all participants so that they have the opportunity to prepare for the items to be discussed. Additional copies of the agenda should be available at the meeting for those who did not bring one. The supervisor is the person who decides the agenda, but the administrative assistant will be responsible for typing up, duplicating, and distributing the agenda.

A written summary of a meeting is called the ‘minutes of the meeting’. The preparation of the minutes of a meeting requires the combination of highly developed listening, concentration, and note-taking abilities. During the meeting, an assistant must be able to:  Listen  Take notes  Summarize the points being discussed while the discussion continues

 Quickly record all important comments  Discussions  Motions  Resolutions

Before the meeting  in consultation with your supervisor, set the date and time of the meeting. Book the conference room and any equipment you may need  Issue and circulate the agenda to the participants  If food or coffee is to be served at the meeting, make all the necessary arrangements  Two or three days before the meeting, prepare your supervisor’s file for the meeting

 Arrive early  Check if the conference room is ready to use (clean, with all the equipment in working condition)  Take with you extra copies of the Agenda  If flowers, candy, water, glasses, have been ordered, verify that they have been delivered and they are placed where you want them.

 Prepare and circulate the minutes  Follow up and contact the participants to determine if they have the materials they have agreed to prepare, and if they have talked to the people with whom they were to communicate.