I have been working in the IT and software industry for 15 years now. And I've probably sat in more than 1000 useless meetings. Technically speaking, that's 1.27 useless meetings per week, rounded to 1 per week. I think I can safely say that pretty much all of us modern knowledge workers sit in at least one completely pointless meeting every week.

What are the top 10 causes of unproductive meetings?

1. Unclear goals and agenda

   1. Many meetings start without a clear objective and agenda. Without a clear goal and focus, these meetings do not lead to any relevant results.

2. Too many (irrelevant) participants

   1. Especially in large companies, managers tend to invite a lot of participants. But very large and diverse groups make it even more difficult to reach decisions and consensus. In addition, not everyone present has a clear role or relevance to the topic, which wastes their time.

3. Poor preparation

   1. If there is an agenda and prepared content for a meeting, usually no one has read it. These participants have to be picked up separately and slow down the exchange.

4. Time management problems

   1. Many meetings last longer than originally planned or start late, which disrupts the flow of work. The constant inflow and outflow of participants also disrupts the flow of a meeting.

5. Dominant personalities

   1. Individual alpha animals like to dominate your discussions, while reserved participants often have little or nothing to contribute, simply because they are not as “loud” as their extroverted colleagues.

6. No decisions

   1. No concrete results or next steps are defined, so the meeting comes to nothing.

7. Technical problems

   1. “Hello, can you hear me?”. Every 2nd meeting today starts like this or something similar. Technical problems delay the start of the meeting and are simply annoying.

8. Misunderstandings due to unclear communication

   1. In many meetings and online video conferences, a lot of time is wasted because participants discuss complex topics but do not formulate clearly enough what exactly they mean. There is often a lack of precise statements, concrete examples or a clear structure in the statements. As a result, participants talk past each other, discussions go round in circles and frustration grows.

9. Lack of moderation

   1. Many meetings do not have a moderator. But without good moderation, discussions digress and the meeting loses focus and structure.

10. Lack of follow-up

    1. In most meetings there is a lot of talking but little writing. As a result, the following week you discuss the same things again, often coming to similar conclusions, but because nobody writes them down or derives tasks or deadlines from them, you keep going round in circles until you retire at some point.

What are the top 10 measures to make meetings more productive?

1. Clear objectives and agenda

   1. Meetings should only be held if a clear objective and agenda have been defined.

2. Keep the number of participants small

   1. It is better to start with a small group. Once a consensus has been reached, expand the group of participants if necessary. This may require more meetings, but progress is easier to achieve.

3. Just-in-time preparation

   1. No one has read the attached Word document? No problem. 10 minutes of silent reading time at the start of the meeting and everyone is on the same page. And yes, 50% of the participants have not read the document and will try to bluff their way through the discussion.

4. Defensive time management

   1. Common practice: Don't book back-to-back meetings, but leave a 5 to 10-minute buffer to the next meeting. That way you still have time for the much-needed bio-break.

5. Slow down dominant personalities, push introverts

   1. In my opinion, it is the moderator's job to regularly curb the alpha animals and instead involve the introverted participants in the discussion by addressing them directly!

6. Creating a framework for decisions

   1. Decisions are always answers to challenging questions. This is where you can start. Is the question posed correctly? Are there intermediate questions that I can ask on the way to the main question? Does everyone have the same understanding of the question? Does everyone know the context? Do I have the right participants in the meeting? Am I even capable of making decisions in the constellation?

7. Solving technical problems

   1. Force colleagues who regularly have hardware problems to log into the call earlier. Distribute new headphones. Set up a piggy bank for colleagues who delay the start of meetings. Sensitize employees to the fact that meeting time is expensive.

8. Better understanding through clearly structured, visual communication

   1. Clear structuring: Terms and key points should be clearly defined at the start of the meeting.

   2. Moderation and visualization: A moderator or visual facilitator can ensure that all participants are on the same page.

   3. Summary: Regular summaries during the meeting help to clarify what has been said and uncover misunderstandings.

   4. For all these issues, HyperClarity can help you with professional visual facilitators who visualize your meeting in real time.

9. Lack of moderation

   1. Many meetings don't have a facilitator. But without good facilitation, discussions digress and the meeting loses focus and structure.

10. Lack of follow-up

    1. In most meetings, a lot is said but little is written. As a result, the very same things are discussed again the following week, often leading to similar conclusions, but because no one writes minutes or derives tasks or responsibilities from them, the meetings go round and round in circles.

Nowadays, meetings tie up a lot of staff and are therefore a relevant cost driver. You can do a lot of things wrong, but there is a solution for most of them. If you are familiar with these problems and are looking for advice, training or visual facilitation support, then get in touch with us. We will be happy to accompany you on your way to more productive meetings that bring all your colleagues along with you.

Johannes & the HyperClarity Team

(Keywords: Visual Facilitation, Graphic Recording, Meeting Moderation, Visual Facilitation Germany, Graphic Recording Germany, Meeting Moderation Germany, Visual Facilitation Europe, Graphic Recording Europe, Meeting Moderation Europe)