Like most of us, I attend an endless onslaught of meetings from the time I get to the office until I leave (and even then I am still in meetings sometimes). Some of these meetings are well orchestrated with a clear objective and well thought out materials. And then there are the rest. There is a scale to their lack of effectiveness but frankly I don’t care – they just waste my time.
There are the obvious cures to these kinds of meetings (like having an objective, having an agenda, etc.), but there are a few not so well documented things that you can do to help your meetings be more effective. Here’s a few of my favourite. Let me know in the comments if you have any more!
Don’t Have the Meeting
Do you really need to have the meeting? Or could you achieve the same thing with a one-on-one conversation and then communicate the outcome? I have sat through more meetings than I care to admit where the conversation was necessary, but not with 15 people. (Yes, I should decline. I know.)
Prep for the Meeting
This doesn’t mean make sure you have an agenda, although that’s part of it. Research your questions before you get on the phone, unless that’s the purpose of the meeting. It is a complete waste of time to have 25 people listen to a 20 minute conversation between 2 people on how something on sub-system 7435 works if the data is just so. I don’t care. Figure it out before.
Take it Offline
Or figure it out after. I don’t care. Just not with me on the phone. Or in the room (I have a hard time feigning interest or delight).
Ask Yourself: Is it Really Important to the End Result?
If it’s not, don’t send out an invite. Or take it offline. Or figure it out beforehand. Just don’t call a meeting for it.
