Why are there so many bad meetings? Many people schedule meetings for a sense of productivity – often, a false one. Time is a precious resource, and meetings should ideally be created on a strictly when-needed basis. Limiting the amount of meetings means more time to work! Consider other forms of communication before scheduling one.

Meetings themselves aren’t bad though. With some structure and awareness, you can set up your meetings to be productive and engaging for everyone involved.

1. Give Context

Keep people in the loop by stating the purpose of the meeting beforehand so they can attend with some context. If applicable, send out a meeting agenda and stay on track during the meeting.

2. Include only relevant people

Have you ever dozed off in a meeting because nothing was interesting and the discussion was completely irrelevant to you? That’s a good indicator that you probably shouldn’t have been included in the meeting.

If you are scheduling a meeting that requires touch-basing with multiple people, you can either set separate meetings or give updates to those individuals outside of the meeting and vice versa.

3. Assign a notetaker

Have you ever heard, ‘I can’t remember…what did we say in the meeting?’ or ‘I thought this was what we decided on?’. Having a notetaker provides much needed clarity and direction!

A digital document such as Google docs works well for collaboration and easy sharing. If you have an upcoming meeting, assign someone to take notes (can be yourself). If the note-taker needs to participate in the discussion as well, make sure they either have enough time to jot down notes or have someone else to help.

4. Get on the same page

Talk about the big-picture vision before discussing the details. It helps to get everyone on the same page – you might get helpful insights or suggestions. Getting buy-in from whoever will be doing the actual work is very important to keep your team motivated. Trust each person to own their expertise.

5. Pause for questions before moving onto the next topic.

It’s tricky to bring back a topic you had a question on. If you are facilitating a meeting, try to pause for a full three seconds – a solid pause is especially needed for a remote meeting where internet connections and unmuting buttons get in the way of a quick response.

Remember, a bit of silence is okay. Most people need time to gather their thoughts especially when presented with new information.

When a question is asked to a group, people sometimes wait for others to speak first, out of politeness. If the group is small enough, you can avoid the awkward oops-we-spoke-at-the-same-time moment by asking individuals. If it is a large group and two people speak up at the same time, you, as the host, can quickly assign who to share first and second.

6. Provide a clear call-to-action

Who will be working on what? Before the meeting ends, share the notes and get confirmation on all the action items for a group consensus. Set clear expectations by assigning tasks on paper and with due dates, including for yourself. Even if some project due dates are flexible, they provide a timeline to help you stay on track.

Make sure to follow up on due dates by checking in if you don’t hear back on any progress. This builds a culture of accountability and professionalism for people to take your words and actions seriously.

Meeting Etiquette Tips

• Schedule in the mornings (depending on when your team typically starts the day). Most people are more focused and energized during this time.
• Don’t schedule last minute; people need time to prepare.
• Don’t schedule back-to-back meetings; allow yourself buffer time for switching gears.
• Take care of any potential distractions before the meeting starts.
• If you’re running late, let people know.
• Avoid rescheduling or cancelling at the last minute or after the meeting has already started.
• If you need more time in a meeting but have another appointment afterwards, you can always schedule another time to continue the conversation. If certain meetings tend to run over, plan a longer meeting next time just in case! It helps to say in your invite ‘We may not need the full meeting time, but it’s scheduled just in case.’
• Give others time and space to speak.

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You know your work environment best, so please use your judgement when adjusting these tips to best suit you and your team’s needs.