How to Make Meetings Less Rubbish: Tips for Better Workplace Collaboration

The Problem with Modern Meetings

• 📌 The average office worker spends 27 days a year in meetings they consider pointless.
• 💡 Many meetings, whether formal or informal, fail to be productive, leading to disengagement and frustration.

Preparation is Key

• 🔑 Both chairs and participants benefit from thorough preparation.
• 📝 Meeting chairs should send out an agenda and potentially a pre-meeting question to focus attendees.
• 📚 Participants should complete pre-reading and plan their contributions in advance.

Managing Participants and Dynamics

• 🗣️ Chairs need to manage extroverts to prevent them from dominating discussions.
• 🤫 More introverted individuals should be encouraged to share their views, perhaps by being asked to contribute on specific topics beforehand.
• 💡 A tip from Cheryl Sandberg suggests introverts should aim to speak early to establish their presence.

Optimizing Meeting Formats and Timing

• 💻 Online meetings offer visibility of names and virtual hand-raising, but require attention to mute status.
• ⚠️ Hybrid meetings can be less effective and require careful planning to ensure everyone is included.
• 🧠 Incorporating mindfulness or team-bonding activities like icebreakers can reduce stress and boost creativity.
• ⏰ Be mindful of timing; back-to-back meetings reduce productivity. Consider ending meetings at quarter-to the hour or scheduling breaks.

Follow-Up and Continuous Improvement

• ✅ Chairs should send action points and thank attendees after the meeting.
• 👏 Attendees should provide feedback to chairs on good meetings.
• ✨ While meetings can be perceived as 'rubbish,' everyone can contribute to making them more effective.