Meetings are all about building connections and having clear communication with everyone involved. As you continue with your project, you’ll need to set up meetings not just with your mentor, but possibly with other community members as well.

Important Meeting Guidelines

• Start with a clear purpose/objective. Why do you want to have this meeting? What do you have to accomplish? 
• Once your meeting goal is clear, make a list of possible activities or points of discussion. 
  • Do you need feedback from others?
  • Is there anything you need people to collaborate on?
  • Is there brainstorming or teamwork that needs to be done?
  • Are there any face-to-face conversations you need to have?
  • Meetings aren’t the time for lectures or general information. That stuff can go in an email, text, or phone call.
• Write an agenda that includes how long you would like to dedicate to each point. Recommendations:  
  • Start with something fun or team-building to get things going.
  • Once everyone is warmed up, get down to business with the activity that will help you best achieve your goal. 
  • Set time limits per topic/activity. People can talk a lot or a little, so have a range to make sure you’re using everyone’s time well.
    • When running your meeting, stick to the allotted times the best that you can. Remember that you are in charge of the meeting, so be both a good listener and manager. 
  • Include everyone at the meeting.
  • Always end on time, even if not everything gets done. People have a lot going on, so be respectful of their time. 
• Send your agenda to everyone attending before the meeting.

Mentor Meeting Setup

• Using the guidelines above, create an agenda for meeting with your mentor. This time, you decide the goal of the meeting, the plan, and set it up yourself. 
• Once you have carried out your meeting, share your reflection on the path:
  • How did running your own meeting go?
  • What did you and your mentor discuss?

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