How to Keep Meetings Focused

Ever notice how some leaders seem to have a sixth sense for meeting dynamics while others plow through their agenda oblivious to glazed eyes, side conversations, or everyone needing several "bio breaks" over the course of an hour? Research tells us executives consider 67% of virtual meetings failures, and a staggering 92% of employees admit to multitasking during meetings. After facilitating hundreds of in-person, virtual, and hybrid sessions, I've developed my "6 E's Framework" to transform the abstract concept of "reading the room" into concrete skills anyone can master. (This is exactly what I teach leaders and teams who want to dramatically improve their meeting and presentation effectiveness.) Here's what to look for and what to do: 1. Eye Contact: Notice where people are looking (or not looking). Are they making eye contact with you or staring at their devices? Position yourself strategically, be inclusive with your gaze, and respectfully acknowledge what you observe: "I notice several people checking watches, so I'll pick up the pace." 2. Energy: Feel the vibe - is it friendly, tense, distracted? Conduct quick energy check-ins ("On a scale of 1-10, what's your energy right now?"), pivot to more engaging topics when needed, and don't hesitate to amplify your own energy through voice modulation and expressive gestures. 3. Expectations: Regularly check if you're delivering what people expected. Start with clear objectives, check in throughout ("Am I addressing what you hoped we'd cover?"), and make progress visible by acknowledging completed agenda items. 4. Extraneous Activities: What are people doing besides paying attention? Get curious about side conversations without defensiveness: "I see some of you discussing something - I'd love to address those thoughts." Break up presentations with interactive elements like polls or small group discussions. 5. Explicit Feedback: Listen when someone directly tells you "we're confused" or "this is exactly what we needed." Remember, one vocal participant often represents others' unspoken feelings. Thank people for honest feedback and actively solicit input from quieter participants. 6. Engagement: Monitor who's participating and how. Create varied opportunities for people to engage with you, the content, and each other. Proactively invite (but don't force) participation from those less likely to speak up. I've shared my complete framework in the article in the comments below. In my coaching and workshops with executives and teams worldwide, I've seen these skills transform even the most dysfunctional meeting cultures -- and I'd be thrilled to help your company's speakers and meeting leaders, too. What meeting dynamics challenge do you find most difficult to navigate? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments! #presentationskills #virualmeetings #engagement

I've discovered that the essence of productive meetings isn't in lengthy discussions, but pre-preparation before the meeting to focus on decisions, and less on lengthy debates. 85% of your discussions should be done Async and only do meetings on strategy, decisions, and key debates/disagreements. Here is what I learnt from working with Japanese executives:  Pre-Meeting: - Try and send materials, from reports to agenda, at least 48 hours ahead. This primes everyone for the discussions ahead. - Clearly state the decisions that need to be made or outcomes that need to be achieved. It's about directing focus right where it's needed. - Invite meeting participants to share their thoughts or questions beforehand, cutting down clarification time during the actual meeting. In the Meeting: - Start with a 5-minute summary, not a lengthy reintroduction. - Discussions are centered around key points and decisions. - Keeping discussions time-boxed is non-negotiable. After the Meeting: - Lay out decisions, assign responsibilities, and set deadlines. I'm curious to hear from you – how have you run your meetings to make them productive? Image credit: Tom FishBurne Marketoonist

Anyone else suffer from meeting overload? It’s a big deal. Simply put too many meetings means less time available for actual work, plus constantly attending meetings can be mentally draining, and often they simply are not required to accomplish the agenda items. At the same time sometimes it’s unavoidable. No matter where you are in your career, here are a few ways that I tackle this topic so that I can be my best and hold myself accountable to how my time is spent. I take 15 minutes every Friday to look at the week ahead and what is on my calendar. I follow these tips to ensure what is on the calendar should be and that I’m prepared. It ensures that I have a relevant and focused communications approach, and enables me to focus on optimizing productivity, outcomes and impact. 1. Review the meeting agenda. If there’s no agenda I send an email asking for one so you know exactly what you need to prepare for, and can ensure your time is correctly prioritized. You may discover you’re actually not the correct person to even attend. If it’s your meeting, set an agenda because accountability goes both ways. 2. Define desired outcomes. What do you want/need from the meeting to enable you to move forward? Be clear about it with participants so you can work collaboratively towards the goal in the time allotted. 3. Confirm you need the meeting. Meetings should be used for difficult or complex discussions, relationship building, and other topics that can get lost in text-based exchanges. A lot of times though we schedule meetings that we don’t actually require a meeting to accomplish the task at hand. Give ourselves and others back time and get the work done without that meeting. 4. Shorten the meeting duration. Can you cut 15 minutes off your meeting? How about 5? I cut 15 minutes off some of my recurring meetings a month ago. That’s 3 hours back in a week I now have to redirect to high impact work. While you’re at it, do you even need all those recurring meetings? It’s never too early for a calendar spring cleaning. 5. Use meetings for discussion topics, not FYIs. I save a lot of time here. We don’t need to speak to go through FYIs (!) 6. Send a pre-read. The best meetings are when we all prepare for a meaningful conversation. If the topic is a meaty one, send a pre-read so participants arrive with a common foundation on the topic and you can all jump straight into the discussion and objectives at hand. 7. Decline a meeting. There’s nothing wrong with declining. Perhaps you’re not the right person to attend, or there is already another team member participating, or you don’t have bandwidth to prepare. Whatever the reason, saying no is ok. What actions do you take to ensure the meetings on your calendar are where you should spend your time? It’s a big topic that we can all benefit from, please share your tips in the comments ⤵️ #careertips #productivity #futureofwork

“Let’s have a meeting to talk about meetings,” said no one ever. But maybe we should. A Microsoft global survey found the #1 workplace distraction is inefficient meetings. The #2? Too many of them. Sound familiar? Last week, I led a meeting effectiveness workshop for a team of 15 at the request of their practice leader—who happens to be my husband. His team’s meeting struggles? Rambling discussions, uneven engagement, unclear outcomes, and lack of follow-through. He thought a meeting AI tool might fix it. Nope. AI can help document meetings, but it can’t make people prepare better, participate more, or drive decisions. The fix? It’s not “Have an agenda”. It’s setting the right meeting norms. My husband was hesitant to put me in the late morning slot–worried the team would tune out before lunch. I told him, “Put me in, coach. I’ll show you engagement.” And I did. For 90 minutes, we tackled meeting norms head-on through interactive discussions and small group exercises. Here are 5 norms they worked through to transform their meetings: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. An agenda is a list of topics. A purpose answers: What critical decision needs to be made? What problem are we solving? Why does this require a discussion? If you can’t summarize the purpose in one sentence with an action verb, you don’t need a meeting. 2️⃣ 𝗕𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. Some discussions only need two people; others require a small group or the full team. Match the participants and group size to the topic and purpose.  3️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲. Before the meeting, define the problem or goal. Identify potential solutions. Recommend one. Outline your criteria for selecting the solution(s). Back it up with data or other relevant information. Preparation = productivity. 4️⃣ 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. A good facilitator keeps conversations on track, reins in tangents, and ensures all voices –not just the loudest–are heard. Facilitation matters more than the agenda. 5️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. Summarize decisions. Assign action items. Set deadlines. Follow-up to ensure accountability and progress. A meeting without follow-through is just wasted time. The outcome of the workshop? 100% engagement. (One person even admitted she normally tunes out in these things but stayed engaged the entire time!) More importantly, the team aligned on meeting norms and left with actionable steps to improve. Want better meetings? Set better norms. Focus on facilitation. What’s one meeting tip that’s worked well for your team?

Running Effective Meetings: 7 Must-Follow Rules After one too many unfocused meetings, I instituted strict rules within my direct reports to increase alignment and productivity. Whether leading internal or external meetings, here are 7 tactics for sharply focused sessions: 1. Most meetings are 30 minutes max. If it's a working meeting it can be 45-60 minutes. 2. Share agenda and pre-read or memo via Doc at least 8 hours prior. Information should be shared in advance. We should not be spending the whole meeting with someone reading a data update. Most meetings should be dialogues and conversations 3. Start the meeting by establishing the objective and desired decisions. I almost always start a group meeting with “objective of this meeting is..." or "By the end of this meeting we will decide…” 4. Start and end on time out of respect for schedules. 5. Redirect tangents politely. Tangents have no place in a 30-minute meeting. If new issues are brought up then they require more data/ and a separate meeting. 6. Leave the last 3 minutes for action item review. 7. Share meeting notes with clear deadlines within 8 hours. I am a proponent for sending immediately after or even during the meeting in Slack. It's remarkable the impact these simple consistency practices have on morale and efficiency. Try them yourself and watch your team's productivity leap. Let me know what rules or frameworks you rely on for optimizing meeting efficiency at your organization! What resonates most with keeping stakeholders aligned and progress flowing? My free newsletter for more productivity & efficiency tips:

🚀 Want to improve group meetings? Here’s what I’ve learned from trial and error: 1. Cancel non-essential meetings: 🗑️ If it’s not crucial, don’t schedule it! 2. Adjust start times: ⏰ Begin meetings 5 minutes after the hour or half-hour to allow breathing room between back-to-back meetings. 3. Clear titles: 🏷️ Title meeting invites with the subject, objective, day, and time zone. (Example: Project Alpha MVP Decision Tue 8/20 11am PST) 4. Agenda in advance: 📝 Provide a clear agenda in the invite or as a link/attachment. If the agenda will come later, let attendees know when to expect it and ensure it’s on time. 5. Pre-reads for decisions: 📄 If decisions are needed, send a pre-read 24 hours in advance and invite comments. 6. Engage and listen: 👂 Keep your intro short. Ask questions, encourage input, and take notes. “Talk Less Smile More” 7. Inclusive participation: 🙋 Ensure everyone has a chance to speak. Gently transition if someone is going on too long. 8. End early: ⏳ Aim to end 3-5 minutes early to give people unexpected free time. Start discussions promptly, manage raised hands, and summarize with next steps about 6 minutes before the end. Suggest async follow up for any remaining raised hands. #Leadership #Productivity #MeetingTips

How I Lead Effective Meetings as a Program Manager at Amazon. Meetings can either be a powerful tool for decision-making or a frustrating time sink. Early in my career, I struggled with unstructured meetings—great discussions but no clear outcomes. One chaotic project, where we held frequent but ineffective syncs, taught me that meetings aren’t just for talking; they should drive action. Here’s how I lead meetings now: 1️⃣ Set a Clear Agenda (and Share It in Advance) Every meeting starts with a structured agenda that includes: ✔️ Objective: What we need to achieve ✔️ Discussion topics: Prioritized for focus ✔️ Attendees: Only those necessary 📌 If an agenda isn’t clear, I challenge whether the meeting is even needed. 2️⃣ Keep Meetings Decision-Oriented Before starting, I clarify: ✔️ What decisions need to be made? ✔️ Who is responsible for next steps? If discussions drift, I refocus: “This is important but let’s table it for a separate deep dive.” This keeps meetings productive instead of open-ended. 3️⃣ Ensure Follow-Through with Clear Recaps A great meeting means nothing if action items aren’t tracked. After the meeting, I send a quick recap with: ✔️ Decisions made ✔️ Action items + owners ✔️ Next steps 📌 I also log action items in a shared tracker to ensure accountability. Bonus: Reduce Unnecessary Meetings Before scheduling, I ask: Can this be solved via Slack, email, or a written update? At Amazon, concise narratives often replace meetings—allowing for more deep work. Final Thoughts A well-run meeting aligns teams, drives decisions, and prevents wasted time. The best compliment I get? “That was one of the most productive meetings I’ve been in.” How do you keep your meetings effective? #Meetings #Productivity #Leadership #ProgramManagement #Amazon

I start every meeting with an agenda. No agenda, no meeting. Why? Because a meeting without an agenda is a meeting folks aren't taking seriously. An agenda sets the tone. It ensures everyone is prepared. It shows respect for everyone's time. It drives focus and productivity. When people know what to expect, they come ready to contribute. Without an agenda, meetings drift. Discussions lose direction. Time is wasted. Opportunities are missed. So, be intentional. Set an agenda. Share it in advance. Make every meeting count. This small step can lead to big improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. It’s about creating a culture of preparation and respect. It’s about valuing everyone’s time and input. Make it a habit. It’s a simple change that drives meaningful results.

Yesterday we talked about why meeting fail…. Today we are going to talk about how you, yes you, Can Run Meetings That Matter. Because it does matter! 🎉 Set the Stage for Success: Before any meeting, ask yourself: “What’s the desired outcome?” Share a clear agenda in advance, and let participants know what’s expected of them. This gives everyone time to prepare and ensures the conversation stays focused. 🎭 Delegate Roles: Designate someone to capture action items and decisions. This not only keeps the meeting on track but also ensures accountability afterward. 💻 Embrace Asynchronous Work: Not every discussion needs to happen in real time. Use live documents to share ideas, gather feedback, and make decisions. This allows people to contribute at their own pace and frees up meeting time for deeper collaboration. I cannot emphasize this enough! 🛸 Create Space for Thought: Silence is powerful. Resist the urge to fill every moment with talking. Give people time to process and share their ideas—especially those who may need a little extra time to gather their thoughts. A little planning goes a long way. I know I certainly don’t always get it right, but I do notice a difference when I do! What are your tips?

Meetings turn into nightmares because of “shiny objects” – insignificant details that turn into drawn-out conversations. Executives are easily distracted by shiny objects. Here’s how to keep us on task and keep your meetings short: Early in my career, I made the mistake of presenting a chart with some “interesting” data in a presentation about something else. It was just a “quirky insight,” not the focus of the meeting. But my boss latched onto it like a kid with a shiny new toy. Suddenly, we were spending 30 minutes digging into how my “interesting” data was collected, if it was valid, what it meant, etc. We were stuck in an insufferable meeting that could have been avoided if I had just left the chart out of my presentation! As an executive, I have done the same thing with shiny objects. I have made my team dig into little nuggets of information they showed me as “supporting information” or “interesting details.” I am sure there were folks in those meetings who were cursing them for including those charts! They may have even been cursing themselves! It turns out that executives are wired to dive deep into anything that glitters, even if it’s not really gold. So, here is how you can avoid distracting your executives and extending your meetings: → Keep your focus sharp in meetings and presentations. Stick to the main idea. → Proactively address any potential shiny objects before they derail the conversation. → Wrap up side stories quickly and steer the conversation back to the main topic. How do you keep your presentations and documents laser-focused? Share your strategies below!