How to run meetings that people don't hate

Executive overview

Meetings aren't the problem — poor facilitation is. Most people have never been taught how to run one, yet spend a quarter of their working day in them.

A clear agenda, tighter time-boxing, and selective invite lists turn meetings from time-sinks into high-value decisions. Written communication (Slack, email) doesn't replace face-to-face; it compounds misunderstanding.

The meeting is only as good as the preparation that precedes it.

Running a high-functioning meeting

• Every meeting needs a written agenda: topics, order, and time per item
• Share the agenda in advance — especially valuable for introverted team members
• Default booking is 1 hour; most meetings need 25 minutes
• End at least 5 minutes early to reset before the next meeting
• Never arrive late — it signals the goal or the attendees don't matter

Invites and participation

• Over-inviting is a bigger problem than under-inviting
• Not being on the invite list is better than attending without contributing
• Face-to-face meetings resolve ambiguities that written communication creates