Q & A for Meeting Survival

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Q & A for Meeting Survival, Even If You Call the Meetings

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em, Meetings Are Necessary

Staff and management meetings seldom generate a neutral response. People seem to either see great value in these events or believe they are a monumental waste of time. Like beauty, opinions of business meetings tend to be in the “eye of the beholder.”

As a manager – and probably frequent caller  of  and key speaker  at  meetings – you should understand that these events are necessary, whether you are a fan or an opponent. Effective communication is absolutely essential at a successful workplace. While Intranet, e-mail, and other electronic communication tools are wonderful, there is still the possibility of misinterpretation, misunderstanding, or misuse of the information delivered.

A staff meeting, with everyone present, communicates identical information to everyone at once. You can assure that the information, spoken and delivered the same way, will reach the eyes and ears of all of your team. Of course, there still may be some misunderstanding or confusion. However, with the team together in the same room, a Q & A session can often clarify any foggy or murky issues.

Here are some tips to help you survive – possibly even enjoy – your meetings. If you call these events, use these to improve your results. Should you be an attendee, pass these along to your management peers for their evaluation. The bottom line goal is to keep meetings on point and productive.

Tips on Positive Meeting Survival

  • Always start meetings on time.  Waiting for late attendees merely displays approval of their lack of time management. This often leads to their continued lateness and may spur others to adopt this behavior.
  • Avoid setting meeting times on the hour or half-hour.  For example, you have a regular Monday meeting at 9:30 am. Change the time to 9:40. Statistics show that odd-timed starts result in a higher number of people being on time.
  • Don’t publicly embarrass any employees who are late.  A sarcastic comment regarding a tardy attendee will accomplish little, but anger and embarrass the employee. There will be little, if any, positive carryover.
  • If you’re required to attend meetings that are unnecessary, try to persuade the meeting leader that your productive time may be better used if you  don’t  attend.  Don’t simply stop going, as your career may take a big hit. But, try to show that your performance will improve if you only attend the critical meetings that are called.
  • When you’re required to make meeting presentations, particularly in the company of more senior executives, keep on target, don’t directly read your material, and use graphics, charts, and other visual material wisely.  Use these materials to illustrate and clarify, not to confuse and/or bore attendees. Avoid showing some nervousness (which may be confused with lack of preparation) by reading your presentation.
  • Publish a “tight” agenda, particularly for regularly scheduled meetings.  Weekly or bi-weekly meetings can often result in wasted time. Using a closely followed agenda for each meeting keeps attendees focused on specific items and establishes a clear objective for each week’s meeting. You’ll have more enthusiastic attendance, receive more thoughtful questions, and have a more informed staff.
  • Structure the formality of meetings to match the primary subject matter.  For example, to specifically announce a major new policy or procedure, you might want to have a more formal and structured meeting design. Conversely, if you’re seeking creative feedback a few weeks after implementing a new policy, you might have more success if the meeting is a free-form brainstorming format, encouraging new ideas and analysis.
  • Severely limit tangents and digressions with a “five-minute rule.”  Most people dislike wasting time at meetings. However, even those most opposed to useless discussions, sometimes start digressions, often finding themselves in a “box” from which there is no apparent escape. Before you realize it, 15 to 20 minutes can easily be wasted on off-target discussions. With your agenda in hand, announce at the start of a meeting that you will enforce a “five-minute rule.” Any discussions outside of or tangential to agenda items will continue for five minutes maximum. Should they occur and reach your "limit," you will stop the discussion immediately and return to the target. No exceptions allowed.


Meeting time is precious and valuable. Treat it as such. Instill this philosophy in all meeting leaders and attendees. If you can stay consistent and on point, you will find that meeting notices will no longer be treated with a shrug or, even, disdain. Attendees will know that the meeting will be on time, focused, and useful. You will also call these meetings with a renewed enthusiasm.