We all attend too many. This is a given.
Most communication that occurs in meetings falls into 5 classifications:
- Requests
- Promises
- Information Sharing
- Sharing personal news
- Debating, decision making, point proving
But only two types of meeting communications are valuable:
- Requests – When you need something from a meeting participant, be clear and precise. Your request should include full details and a deadline
- Promises – These are commitments made by a person to fulfill requests. That is why specificity is critical. As the meeting leader, your follow-up is to define the requests, promises and timing. One record for executing against the promises
Here is how Google runs a meeting. They are a pretty good company – http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-run-a-meeting-like-google-2010-1
And a look at Apple’s process. They make pretty good stuff – http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669936/meetings-are-a-skill-you-can-master-and-steve-jobs-taught-me-how
As for the other three communication types, they are still important, but use e-mail, the water cooler or other interactions for them.
Stop accepting mediocrity and wasting time. Take action now. You, your calendar and your clients will be much happier.
Webman