Most people understand the importance of a meeting agenda. Think of it as a shopping list – you don’t blindly walk into the grocery store without a list or you will forget what you need and waste time aimlessly browsing. Similarly, you don’t blindly walk into a meeting without a meeting agenda or you will have no talking points, resulting in forgotten points and wasted time.

So, while most people understand the importance of meeting agendas, many people still struggle with what to put on their meeting agenda to have a productive conversation. This is why meeting agenda templates exist!

Meeting agenda templates serve as a guide for what to talk about and what order to discuss talking points in so that your meetings are as productive and efficient as possible. 

• The benefits of using a meeting agenda template
• How to make a free copy of the templates
• 8 Meeting agenda templates for Google Docs
• A better alternative to Google Docs for meetings

The benefits of using a meeting agenda template

There are many benefits of meeting agenda templates. Let’s explore 3 key benefits…

1 Fosters organization

An organized meeting is one worth showing up for. I’m sure we’ve all experienced unorganized meetings before. These are the meetings where everyone talks over each other, no outcome/next steps are decided on, and time is ultimately wasted. 

Using a meeting agenda template will ensure that meetings are organized from start to finish. With different sections in the agenda, team members will know when to bring up talking points, questions, etc. Meeting agenda templates also help the meeting stay on-topic and finish on time.

2 Encourages collaboration

Sometimes it can be difficult to get everyone to contribute to the meeting agenda. They may not have anything to say or they may not know when to say it. This is why meeting agenda templates are important. 

For example, try using a meeting template with a section for “Wins” at the beginning. Thus, even if some team members have nothing to say about the meeting, they will still be able to contribute by adding a small win from the week before. 

3 Creates a clear purpose

One of the biggest meeting mistakes is not having a clear purpose. If there is no purpose to the meeting, then there is no purpose in showing up. Meeting agenda templates help you determine if your meeting has a purpose by providing designated spaces for each talking point and question. If you find yourself staring at the meeting agenda template with nothing to add to it, then chances are your meeting has no purpose!

Additionally, if you look at the meeting agenda and see that there is only 1 question or quick talking point on the agenda, a phone call or email would likely be more worthwhile. Remember that recurring meetings CAN lose purpose and to not always default to video chats when your meeting agenda is looking bare. 

How to make a free copy of the Google Doc meeting agenda templates

To use the meeting agenda templates provided above, follow these steps:

1. Open the document by clicking on the image
2. Hit “File”, located in the menu bar at the top of the page
3. Hit “Make a copy”, then rename the document how you’d like and choose which folder you’d like to save the copy into
4. Press “OK”

A copy of the meeting agenda template will then appear in your chosen file with access to edit it!

Pro tip: If you hit “File”, then “Download”, you can save the document in Microsoft Word or as a PDF. 

8 meeting agenda templates for Google Docs

• Formal meeting agenda template
• Simple meeting agenda template
• Board meeting
• 1-on-1 meeting
• Sales meeting
• Marketing meeting
• Project kickoff meeting
• Retrospective meeting

1 Formal meeting agenda template

Ensure that your formal meetings hit every important aspect with this template.

2 Standard meeting agenda template

Leave room for customization to fit your team’s unique needs with this simple template.

3 Board meeting

Check out this template to kick off your next board meeting the right way.

4 1-on-1 meeting

1-on-1 meetings help managers become better leaders. Start your next 1-on-1 right by asking all the right questions.  

5 Sales meeting

Try out this template to coach and support your business development representatives.

6 Marketing meeting

Try out this template to stay updated on your team’s metrics, projects, roadblocks and next steps. 

7 Project kickoff meeting

Lay the foundation for a successful project and ensure your team is on the same page by using this template.  

8 Retrospective meeting

Learn from your projects by reviewing them with this template.

A better alternative to Google Docs for your meetings

With close to 500 meeting agenda templates, Fellow provides users with a world-class experience to take their meetings to the next level. Whether you like traditional and simple meeting agendas or more elaborate and unique meeting agendas, Fellow has a wide variety to choose from. 

Not only does Fellow provide its users with a wide variety of templates, but we also provide users with multiple specific use-case templates. Whether you work in the government, a hospital, or a legal office, Fellow has templates for you.

Here is a full list of the different categories of templates that Fellow offers for every meeting possible:

• Weekly team meetings
• 1-on-1 meetings
• Agile meetings
• Board meetings
• Customer success meetings
• Design meetings
• Engineering meetings
• Executive meetings
• Finance meetings
• Government meetings
• Hospital staff meetings
• HR meetings
• Legal meetings
• Lobbying meetings
• Marketing meetings
• Planning meetings 
• Product meetings
• Remote meetings
• Retrospective meetings
• Sales meetings
• Team meetings

Additionally, unlike Google Docs, Fellow is a purpose-built application that helps teams have more productive meetings. Here are some key features that make Fellow (and not Google Docs) the perfect tool to organize and collaborate on meeting agendas with, track action items, and exchange feedback:

• Meeting-centric experience
• Side-by-side view of your calendar and meeting notes
• Company-wide meeting templates
• Aggregated action items across meetings
• Suggested questions for 1-on-1s
• Feedback and recognition
• Helpful notifications and prompts

More meeting agenda templates

Why settle for less when you can have more? – “more” being more productivity, more efficiency, more collaboration, more organization, etc. Using a meeting agenda template will make your life easier, your coworkers’ lives easier, and your meetings better. 

And, if you don’t want to take our word for it, try some out yourself here! 😃