Making Meetings Productive

The New York Times recently reported on a study that found workers spend an average of 5.6 hours a week in meetings, and that over 70% of the attendees thought that the meeting time "wasn't productive." Other studies have shown that at least half of the time spent in a meeting is considered wasted time. Here are some of the common problems with meetings and some techniques that might help you reduce not only the amount of wasted time, but also the length of the meeting itself.

Prioritize what you want to accomplish, and create and distribute an agenda for the meeting based on the priorities. This centers the attendees' attention on the objectives, provides a checklist to know when the meeting is completed, and lets you stop the conversation from wandering into unproductive areas.

Create a "strawman" solution from which everyone can work. This could be an outline or a couple of slides that might show your thoughts on how to address the situation or achieve the objective. You could distribute this prior to or at the meeting. It's a lot easier (and faster) for people to respond to something than to come up with something from scratch.

Discuss and assign responsibilities, next steps and time lines at the meeting. This will prevent having multiple, unproductive meetings without results.

Limit the attendees. Too often, people are pulled into meetings where they have no role, and leave thinking that it was a waste of time. Invite only those who need to be there. Your meeting will ultimately be more productive if only the significant contributors participate.

Don't repeat the same mistakes that make you think a meeting is a waste of time. Remember and implement the things that are most useful. It's your meeting - make it a productive one.