Tuesday Tip from Pride Institute: Team-generated meeting agendas keep interest high

Some of the most important conversations you have in the practice stem from your weekly meetings. Each meeting should have a team-generated agenda because the agenda is an essential communication tool. A blank agenda should be posted in a place where every team member can see it and feel encouraged to add items during the week. If you don’t already post an agenda in a central place, you need to decide where to place it.

When an individual puts an item or question onto the agenda, that person becomes a topic owner. The topic owner places his or her initials next to the item and estimates how long it will take to discuss. It’s important to pay attention to how a topic for the agenda is phrased. This phrasing influences how the group will tackle the issue. An agenda item can be phrased as a question or a statement. When you write down an agenda item, think about what kind of response you want from the team. Phrase the item so that it is clear, specific, and has an end goal in mind.

Poorly written or vague agenda items might appear like this:
1. Handling financial objections
2. We need more patients
3. Our kitchen is disgusting

The items in this example are vague and more opinion-oriented than objective. A better way to phrase agenda items is:
1. Need to know how to respond to patients who want to delay treatment due to financial concerns
2. Brainstorm ways to attract new patients to the practice and develop a marketing plan
3. Develop a plan to keep the kitchen clean

Notice that rephrasing defines and clarifies the problem. These topic items are poised to solve specific issues. Share this tip with your team and clean up you agendas!

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Tuesday Tips from Pride Institute are provided weekly on their Facebook page as well as in this column in DentistryIQ. To ensure you don’t miss any of Pride Institute’s proven methods to take your practice to the next level, visit prideinstitute.com, and like them on Facebook.