Non-Productive Meetings and Endless Emails: How to Avoid Them (Like The Plague)

It’s happened to nearly all of us: you get called to an important meeting, everyone sits down and schmoozes a bit, there’s some unfocused discussion and by the time the meeting is over, you realize that not much was accomplished. Idle banter that goes on too long, lack of an agenda and unequal floor time between attendees can turn what should have been a productive meeting into a major time-waster.

The first step toward a productive meeting is having an agenda. Outline what you want to accomplish during the meeting, and e-mail it to all attendees a day or two ahead of time. That will give everyone time to think about how they can contribute to the topic at hand, and will give the group a sense of purpose. The agenda should list the topics you want to cover, in the order you want to discuss them. Re-state the agenda before the meeting starts as a refresher for the inevitable few who only glanced at the email.

Don’t schedule meetings right before or after lunch, or at the very end of the day. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon are best, since everyone’s energized and less likely to be distracted. You don’t want all of your employees daydreaming about sandwiches, falling over with post-lunch fatigue or watching the clock, itching to leave for the day. Definitely avoid holding meetings during a meal – it’s far too distracting.

Have an assistant take notes throughout the meeting. Not only will this provide a record of what was discussed and what ideas were brought to light, it will also help maintain an air of professionalism that will help discourage idle banter and side conversations.

The meeting must have a clear leader who guides the group through each topic, and encourages participation. Encourage everyone to participate equally – don’t let that one guy who just likes the sound of his own voice (or is trying to make himself look good) do all of the talking. Make it a point to ask the quieter attendees what they think, and prod them for their own solutions.

Give each attendee an adequate amount of time to talk, and limit interruptions. If you’re respectful of their opinions, they’ll be more likely to provide valuable feedback. You want everyone to feel safe expressing their ideas in front of the group.

Stick to the allotted time for the meeting. Ten minutes before the scheduled end, the meeting leader should mention that you’re almost out of time and begin assigning tasks based on the discussion. Setting goals will help ensure that the meeting will actually help you get something done.

Time after time, after meetings have ended, the boss (or meeting organizer) gets bombarded with emails from employees about things that were discussed during the meeting. A good way to avoid this is to have a quick follow-up Q&A session later in the day or the following day after everyone has had a chance to absorb the info and come up with questions. Getting everyone together for this also ensures you’re not hit with multiple emails asking the same question.

Announce the Q&A session at the end of the initial meeting, so everyone knows they’ll get a chance to have their questions answered and there’s no need to email. Keep the Q&A session short and sweet, so it’s not redundant.