

Ask HN:  How do you keep meetings short? - j_baker

Fortunately, I don't have to attend very many meetings at my current job.  However, when I do attend a meeting, it seems like there's always at least one person who does <i>everything</i> in their power to make sure that it lasts as long as possible.<p>Does anyone have any strategies for dealing with these situations?
======
donohoe
I ask two questions at the beginning of most meetings in a very friendly and
non-attitude way:

(1) "Hey, so whats the agenda here? What is it we all need to know by the time
this is over?"

(2) "I have a conflict with another meeting. What do you need to know from me
right now? (or what do I need to know from everyone right now?)"

Works wonders and also helps other people get to the point too.

In my particular case I don't turn up at most meetings. On rare occasions I'll
get a phone call at my desk or someone will swing by, in which case I'll
happily go.

------
datums
Make sure there's an agenda. Meeting can last forever, if everyone drifts from
the topic that the meeting was set to discuss.

Make sure there's a timeline 45 min. You need to have an end.

See if the attendees are willing to do the meeting standing up ?

~~~
zedshaw
I'd also add two more things:

1\. Make it so the agenda is announced to the participants over email so they
can whittle it down using email. Sometimes you don't even need the meeting.

2\. If you have that guy who makes them take to long, talk to him privately
about it. Or, don't invite him. Or, schedule the meeting 30 minutes before he
has to leave to pick up his kids.

------
slantyyz
If it's not a meeting you called, your options are a little more limited, but
if it's one of your meetings, here are some tips:

1 - Have a set time limit, don't be afraid to even carry an egg timer

2 - Set an agenda, and make sure everyone has it in advance. Agenda is vague,
but I'm talking about a list of items (somewhat specific talking points) for
which each item can have a realistic time limit

3 - Carry a big stick. This is your meeting, don't be afraid to swing your
stick, even if your superiors are in the meeting. This is where most meetings
fail, because the organizer is too scared to take control.

4 - "Take this offline" is a powerful weapon as well. Once you even remotely
sense that a tangential/offtopic discussion is coming up, tell the
participants to take it offline, note it for follow up for yourself so that
you can ensure a proper resolution.

5 - Think about using a meeting cost timer. Yes, this is gutsy, but if people
see a dollar amount (just use a blended hourly rate x the number of people in
the meeting) tallying up on a screen somewhere, they start to respect the cost
of the meeting and can be motivated to NOT bore people with low priority
discussion.

~~~
slantyyz
Forgot to add one thing - ban e-mail and blackberries. If someone starts using
it, kick them out.

~~~
j_baker
I would personally view that as an incentive to check my email in most cases.
:-)

------
reduxredacted
It's a tricky problem _as a participant_ and it depends on the individual
who's dragging the topic on.

I find this problem to be more the fault of the facilitator than the
participant. There's always an opportunity to say "I understand your concerns,
lets take this offline so we can continue with our discussion."

As a participant, depending on who is hosting, you may step all over sensitive
toes if you try to correct the individual in question.

When I host I have a few rules. I always start on time and avoid repeating
myself for people who arrive late. I define the purpose of the meeting up-
front. I never schedule more than 30 minutes. I stop people who bloviate or go
off topic by suggesting a possible follow-up (often unnecessary).

And the most useful opening line is "Though I booked 30 minutes, I want to
value everyone's time, so I think we can [insert purpose for meeting here] and
have plenty of time to spare." Any variation of that seems to get people to
pay attention and contribute because there's an expectation that we'll get
somewhere, and be done quickly.

As a participant: If I know the meeting organizer well enough, it's a
conference call and the organizer is not sharing their desktop, a simple IM to
them host saying "Land the plane." or "Find a way to shut him/her down.",
perhaps with more carefully chosen words depending my relationship with the
meeting host helps.

If you feel comfortable enough with the host, content and meeting arrangement
you may find that you take over for the host as a participant. Be careful,
though, some peoples' egos bruise easily.

------
waxman
Have standing meetings. It makes everyone pick up the pace, and it's almost
impossible to doze off or doodle, and yet if you need to write something down
you still can

