The Care and Feeding of Committees

Committees are more than the sum of their parts and they deserve special care. Some mechanical basics that can make a difference are:

1. Any lengthy committee meeting or one held in the early morning or late afternoon or evening deserves refreshments. Coffee and tea are essential. Juice and water are a nice touch. This is the least you can do if the committee members are volunteers.


2. The committee room must be attractive and comfortable but it need not be so comfortable that people won't want to leave. With some groups, the softer the chairs, the worse the decisions.


3. All visual aids should be easily seen from the most remote part of the room. In most cases, a flip chart or white board will be sufficient and PowerPoint should be avoided.


4. The agenda should be circulated beforehand and extra copies should be available at the meeting. It should not be more than one page.


5. The easiest items should be tackled first so they are out of the way by the time the monster issues are addressed.


6. There should be a brief nine to eleven minute break every hour. [State break times in odd numbers; doing so causes people to be more attentive.]


7. Eliminate the fluff and restrict the agenda items to the essentials. Operate with the assumption that the attendees would rather be somewhere else.