A formal meeting is a planned discussion on a predetermined topic and objectives, usually led by a chairperson, and then recorded in a formal meetings record known as minutes. These meetings are very well-organized, requiring significant planning and assigning specific roles to various people to ensure that things stay on course.
Informal meetings are the most common kind of business gathering such as staff reunions or brainstorming sessions. Meetings that are formal are often used for more strategic discussions regarding high-risk issues such as company strategy, budget cuts, and managing projects. The primary distinction between informal and formal meetings is that informal ones tend to have a looser structure with a more fluid and open discussion.
Meetings that are formal are more likely to have strict guidelines, such as an agenda, a certain format for notes taken by the notetaker who is an official and formal language used in the notes. The information is accessible by those who aren’t present at the meeting.
In order to run a successful meeting, it is important that participants have access to the reports and data they need. Meeting software and a task manager can be used to remind attendees of, or tasks. This can help them prepare for the next step of the process. After the meeting has concluded, it’s important to follow-up with attendees to recap what was discussed, draw out the key actions and solicit feedback so that future meetings will be more productive.