Meeting Makeover: How to Stop Wasting Time

The primary problem is that many meetings end up feeling like a colossal waste of time. You’re sitting there, watching the minutes tick by, while someone drones on about a topic that either has no relevance to your work or could have easily been covered in a short email. To make matters worse, many organizations insist on holding meetings just because it's Tuesday and "we always have a meeting on Tuesdays." Whether there’s actually something to discuss or not is beside the point. The result? A room full of people who are physically present but mentally checked out, wishing they were anywhere else.

What Meetings SHOULD Be About 

But when done right, meetings can actually be highly beneficial and even transformative for a team. A well-structured meeting can serve as a powerful tool for decision-making, fostering collaboration, and ensuring everyone is on the same page. It’s a chance to share important updates, brainstorm creative solutions, and resolve pressing issues in real-time. Meetings also provide a platform for team members to voice their concerns, ask questions, and seek clarification on matters that may otherwise get lost in the chaos of emails and chat messages. In an ideal world, meetings offer a unique opportunity to strengthen team cohesion, align goals, and drive projects forward. So why does this vision of a productive meeting so rarely match reality?

Let’s Discuss It to Death

The truth is, most meetings fail because of a few common yet easily avoidable mistakes. First, there’s the classic blunder of inviting too many people. The more attendees, the harder it is to keep the discussion focused. Then there’s the dreaded lack of a clear agenda. Without a plan, the conversation meanders, and what could have been a 30-minute discussion spirals into an hour-long ordeal. Another typical misstep is the tendency for the meeting leader to dominate the conversation, turning what should be a collaborative session into a one-sided monologue. The result? Frustrated participants who leave the room wondering why they were even there in the first place.

Keep Your Meetings Short and To the Point 

So how can we fix this? Define the objectives of the meeting clearly and then, stick to a focused agenda. Embrace the role of a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Encourage participation, ask open-ended questions, and give everyone a chance to speak. And remember, it’s perfectly okay to cut off discussions that are veering off track or diving too deep into irrelevant details. Finally, wrap up with a quick recap of decisions made and next steps. The goal of a meeting shouldn’t be just to meet; it should be to achieve something worthwhile. Take a look at some useful phrases that can help you lead meetings more effectively. 

Starting the Meeting

• Thank you all for being here today.
• I’d like to welcome everyone to today’s meeting.
• The main objective of today’s meeting is...
• Let’s quickly go over the agenda.

Initiating the Discussion

• Let’s move on to the first point on the agenda.
• Let’s open this up for discussion.
• Can we hear your thoughts on this?
• Would anyone like to add anything?

Managing the Discussion

• Let’s stay on topic.
• Can we save that point for later?
• I’d like to bring the discussion back to...
• Could we focus on... for a moment?

Transitioning to the Next Point

• Shall we move on to the next point?
• If there’s nothing else, let’s continue with...
• We’re running short on time, so let’s proceed with...

Responding to Participants’ Opinions

• That’s a great point, thank you.
• I see your point, but I think we should also consider...
• I appreciate your input, but we need to stay focused on...
• That’s an interesting perspective.

Summarizing and Closing the Meeting

• To summarize, we’ve agreed on...
• Let’s quickly recap the key points.
• Before we finish, let’s go over the action items.
• What are the next steps?
• Who will take responsibility for this task?
• Could we set a deadline for this?
• Thanks everyone for your contributions today.
• Let’s close the meeting here.