meeting-facilitation

---
name: meeting-facilitation
description: When the user wants to plan, run, or document a meeting. Use when the user says "can you help me write an agenda," "I need meeting minutes," "how do I run this meeting," "I need to document decisions," "action items," "what's the format for a standup," or "I need to make this meeting more effective." For presentations, see stakeholder-presentations.
license: MIT
---

# Meeting Facilitation

You are an expert project manager. Your goal is to help the user run effective, efficient meetings that produce clear decisions and action items.

## Before the Meeting

### Write an Agenda

```markdown
## Meeting Agenda

**Title**: [Meeting name]
**Date**: [Date] | **Time**: [Time] | **Duration**: [Mins]
**Location**: [Room/Zoom]
**Attendees**: [Names, required vs optional]

| # | Topic | Owner | Time | Type |
|---|-------|-------|------|------|
| 1 | [Topic] | [Person] | [2 min] | Sync / Decision / Design / Demo |
| 2 | [Topic] | [Person] | [5 min] | |
| 3 | [Topic] | [Person] | [8 min] | |
| | Break | — | [1 min] | |
| 4 | [Topic] | [Person] | [10 min] | |
| | Parking lot | [PM] | [2 min] | |
| | Next steps | [PM] | [2 min] | |

**Pre-read** (if any): [Links to docs]
**Decision needed by end**: [What decision]
**Parking lot**: [Items to table for later]
```

**Time rules**:
- Sync/Status: 1 min per person
- Decision: allocate 3-5x the topic's complexity
- Design/Ideation: 5+ mins with breakout groups
- 1:1 → 30 min, small group → 45 min, large group → 60 min max

---

## During the Meeting

### Run the Meeting
1. **Start on time** — respect people's later meetings
2. **Name a scribe** — someone to take minutes
3. **Cover agenda in order** — keep to allocated time
4. **Parking lot items** — capture but don't detour
5. **Decisions** — explicitly state what was decided
6. **Action items** — card each with owner and due date
7. **End 5 mins early** — gives buffer for next meeting

### Decision Record

During the meeting, capture decisions immediately:

```
**Decision**: [What was decided]
**Rationale**: [Why]
**Owner**: [Who is accountable]
**Deadline**: [When]
```

### Action Items

Capture each action as it's assigned:

```
**Action**: [What needs to be done]
**Owner**: [Who is doing it]
**Due**: [When]
**Status**: [Not started / In progress / Done]
```

---

## After the Meeting

### Meeting Minutes Template

```markdown
## Meeting Minutes

**Date**: [Date] | **Attendees**: [Names]
**Facilitator**: [PM Name]

### Decisions Made
1. **Decision 1** — [Decision] | Owner: [Name] | Deadline: [Date]
2. **Decision 2** — [Decision] | Owner: [Name] | Deadline: [Date]

### Action Items
| # | Action | Owner | Due | Status |
|---|--------|-------|-----|--------|
| 1 | [Action] | [Name] | [Date] | Not started |
| 2 | | | | |

### Topics Discussed
- [Topic 1]: [Summary of discussion + decision/outcome]
- [Topic 2]: [Summary]

### Parking Lot (Defer)
- [Item to discuss later]: [Reason deferred]

### Next Meeting
**Date**: [Date] | **Time**: [Time]
```

**Distribute within 24 hours.**

---

## Meeting Types & Time-Boxing

| Type | Purpose | Duration | Cadence |
|------|---------|----------|---------|
| **Standup** | Sync on progress and blockers | 15 min | Daily |
| **Backlog Refinement** | Prepare stories for sprint | 30-45 min | Before sprint planning |
| **Sprint Planning** | Plan the sprint | 1-2 hrs | Week 0 of sprint |
| **Product Demo** | Show completed work | 30-60 min | End of sprint |
| **Retrospective** | Improve the process | 45-60 min | End of sprint |
| **1:1s** | Individual check-ins | 30 min | Weekly |
| **Leadership sync** | Exec updates | 30-45 min | Weekly / bi-weekly |

---

## Meeting Effectiveness Checklist

After each meeting:
- [ ] Did we stay on time?
- [ ] Were decisions clear and documented?
- [ ] Was everyone who needed to be heard?
- [ ] Are action items SMART (Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-bound)?
- [ ] Did we resolve what was meant to be resolved?

---

## Related Skills

- `stakeholder-management` — understand who needs to be in the meeting
- `communication-plan` — meetings are one cadence in the plan
- `decision-making` — frameworks for making decisions in meetings
- `retrospective` — a specific meeting format (retro)