Over the years, various surveys have revealed the top gripes about workplace meetings. To name a few: information could have been more efficiently shared through email; topics are redundant; and only one or two people do all the talking.

But, we all know that meetings are valuable! They bring a team together, allow for collaboration, spark excitement around a new product, build trust, birth new ideas, and solve issues!

Which is why meeting leaders should evaluate the purpose of their meetings and consider four (4) basic meeting rules:

1.     Respect Time.

Just because technology defaults to 30-60 minute scheduling increments, should your meetings always take that long? Can a topic be boiled down to 15-20 minutes? It’s okay to end a meeting early.

2.     Give Advance Notice and an Agenda.

Try to give plenty of notice for a meeting to allow participants to read a memo, gather data, and formulate thoughts and opinions so they’re prepared in advance. Also, send calendar invites so participants know not schedule over the meeting time.

3.     Clarify Phone Policy.

If, and only if, you find your team is abusing their phones during a meeting, establish a policy. For example, share when phones are permitted and for what purpose. If someone needs to take a call, send an email, etc., they should step out of the meeting.

4.     Diversify Presenters.

Ask others to speak or present on a topic or share their thoughts and perspectives. This builds leadership and keeps the meetings interesting.

BONUS. Keep it Interesting.

Every Monday, our firm has a 10-15 meeting for the entire team. At the end of each meeting, we ask trivia questions. Topics vary each week. I find it elevates the mood and gets everyone in the right mind set to start the week.