Have you ever found yourself in a meeting that lost its way?

Probably

Did you find yourself getting frustrated with the meeting leader?

You wouldn’t be the only one.

When you feel frustrated about how a meeting is unfolding, do you…

• Check out and get quiet?
• Start doing other work?
• Get irritated, impatient, or abrupt?
• Grin and bear it?

There are better options.

While the meeting organizer has the accountability for the effectiveness of the meeting, each participant has the accountability to contribute to the meeting in productive ways. In other words, creating a valuable meeting is not all on the meeting leader. As a meeting participant, you can significantly influence the quality of the meeting. However, many participants often underestimate their influence and when this happens, a chance to productively use the limited, valuable time we have passes by, for everyone involved.

The next time you are invited to a meeting, here are some suggestions to help you get the most from the time spent.

• If you are invited to a meeting without a clear purpose or agenda, inquire with the meeting organizer. You might say, “Please clarify the purpose of this meeting. Knowing the reason for the meeting will help me to be more prepared.”
• When you are in the meeting, notice who is quiet and invite into the conversation by asking them what they think.
• Listen to your colleagues. Summarize their views to confirm to ensure their views are being understood. Often, we think we understand but we might miss key points. Paraphrasing demonstrates that you care about what your colleagues are saying and that you want to make sure you get it right.
• Share your views candidly, concisely, and respectfully and refrain from repeating what’s already been said. No one is there to hear the same point multiple times, and it wastes everyone’s time.
• When a discussion is getting off track, be the one who brings it back on track. Others will appreciate the nudge to refocus, and it respects everyone’s time.
• If you sense the discussion isn’t getting to a key issue, state your observation. This may not be comfortable, but it can crack open a conversation that is critical to your progress. You could say, “As I’m listening to this discussion, I’m realizing that we’re not quite getting to the heart of the matter on this topic. What are we not talking about?”
• If the decisions made, or next steps to be taken aren’t clear, speak up and confirm who is doing what and by when. For example, you could say, “To make sure we’re all on the same page, let’s recap the decisions we made and what our next steps will be.”

Your time is finite and for that reason, you can only give it to a limited number of things. If your calendar doesn’t reflect your top priorities, something has gone offside. Making conscious choices about which meetings deserve your finite time and which ones don’t will help you get a handle on your time and feel more satisfied about how you are handling your day. Plus, it doesn’t feel good to sit in a meeting wasting time. Making the time you do spend in meetings more enjoyable and productive will not only benefit you. It will benefit everyone else who is in that meeting with you too and they’ll appreciate it.