Making meetings better – while you’re in them
Hi there,
Making meetings better sometimes comes down to the things you can get sorted ahead of time: a clear agenda, getting the right people to come, and making sure everybody’s prepared and engaged. You probably know the list by heart, though it’s not always easy to make it happen. And let’s be honest, meetings sometimes go just fine without these rules.
What we really need are ways to get a meeting that’s not going so well back on track. Preferably in real time.
If we all admit that meetings sometimes go well and sometimes don’t, then it’s also fine not to finish them. You can change tack 15 minutes in, or reschedule for some other time. (It’s a little like when you submit a written document you’ve prepared and then with your team decide: this approach doesn’t work at all, what we need is a spreadsheet.)
That’s how it could go with meetings.
It should be no big deal to remind people of the meeting’s purpose. Just as we should routinely decide to let out early or make clear that the meeting’s not running smoothly because people didn’t prepare. Those kinds of interventions are powerful tools for getting gatherings back on course. It can save you hundreds of hours of ineffective meetings, whatever your role may be.
Sometimes it can feel like there’s no middle ground between suffering through in silence and being a jerk about it, but there is. Try experimenting in meetings with how you raise the critical question you have, or how you say that your time can better be used elsewhere. You can’t expect things to change if you don’t change your approach, so try new things out.
When you spot a pattern, have your line at the ready: “Before we go on, I’m wondering whether I need to be here for this session. Is it ok if I cut out? I could really use the time for X.”
How you say this sort of thing is an art, and it’s not surprising you have to think about it a little.
Here are my concrete suggestions to make meetings better:
For all your meetings, and especially the ones with lots of people, make sure there’s a clear agenda. If there’s not, then take the initiative and see to it that the group defines the agenda points then and there.
When you see the conversation going off on a tangent, be the person who says: We’re getting off track, people. Let’s park this topic X for now. We’re here to come up with possible solutions for Project Y.
Make it easy to talk about a lack of preparation, in a light-hearted way. A combination of making time for folks to prepare on the spot (OK, shall we take 5 minutes so everyone can read through the report?) plus feedback in person afterwards works well if you’re the meeting organizer. As a meeting participant, if I fess up to not being prepared and am clearly not happy about it, then I think that should be accepted – as long as I’m open to individual feedback afterwards.
Dare to leave. If you’ve never done this, practice this week: “Is it alright if I duck out?” I’m sure you’ve been in a session where after just 15 minutes you thought to yourself, This is not helping me at all and I don’t have anything useful to contribute. My challenge for you is for once not to just sit through it, checking your email on the sly, but to take charge. It not only wins you time, it’s also a signal to the others that you take your time seriously.
I would love to see these guidelines completely accepted in teams:
It’s always OK to ask for time to establish a meeting’s purpose and agenda
It’s always OK to point out to each other the importance of coming prepared
It’s always OK to ask if you can leave the meeting
It’s always OK to wonder whether certain attendees are still needed
It’s always OK to suggest cancelling a meeting or to reschedule if you have doubts about the setup, prep, or energy in the room
Meetings can sap your time and energy. I hope this gives you some ideas you can try this week to make the situation a little more bearable – for yourself and everyone you meet with.
Have a good week!
Rick