What is a first meeting?

What is a first meeting? 

The simple answer is a first meeting can be a lot of different things. You could be joining a sports team and going along to practice for the first time. Or it having a Zoom meeting with a recruiter about a potential new job. The options are endless. 

If we think about this from a business perspective, there are some common things that you want to make sure you do when meeting someone for the first time. 

Whether it’s a client or members of your team, you should take some time to plan what you want to discuss. What topics are on your mind? What is going to help you move things forward? 

Once you have this in mind, think about how long it’ll take to cover and who you need to have there to get results. Inviting the whole team might not be productive when a few select members can cover all bases. 

When you know what your meeting for and who needs to be there, prepare an agenda that outlines the topics and how long you plan to talk about them. Be sure to place the highest priority items at the top so they definitely get covered. 

Send your agenda around your guests and give them a chance to provide feedback. You never know, you might have forgotten something important. 

On the day of the meeting, remember you might be meeting people for the first time or holding the first meeting of a new project. Start with an icebreaker so everyone feels comfortable and willing to contribute to the conversation. 

If you’re acting as chair, be sure to get everyone’s view on the topics at hand. Don’t let one person dominate the conversation. Also, try to stick to the agenda times closely. You can also arrange a follow-up if something deserves further discussion. 

At the end of the meeting make sure to create action points, so everyone knows what they need to do before the next meeting. 

How to arrange your first meeting 

Whether you're meeting someone for the first time or arranging the first meeting of a new project, you want to create a great impression. That’s not always easy if you’re trying to get lots of people together and get stuck in rounds of email ping-pong. That’s where Doodle can help. 

With Group Poll you simply name your meeting, set the location and select the times you want to meet. Your guests then choose what works for them and you get the best time to meet quicker than it takes to make a coffee. 

If you’re meeting clients for the first time, Doodle Professional lets you add a sleek look to your invites, removes ads and lets you send reminders as well as set deadlines. Plus you can add your favorite video conferencing tools.

Using Doodle gives your guest a great first impression - whether it’s one-on-one or with 5000 people. Try it for free today - no credit card required.