{"id":6158,"date":"2017-08-10T00:01:24","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T04:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/?p=6158"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:19:55","slug":"meeting-killers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/meeting-killers\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting Killers: Eight Ways to Kill A Meeting and Your Reputation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below are eight habits we call meeting killers<\/em> that every facilitator, or meeting leader, must avoid.<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Neglect to prepare your participants in advance.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Meeting Killers: Have you ever been in a meeting where someone asks: \u201cSo, what\u2019s this all about?\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

People attending a meeting should know the purpose<\/a> of the meeting before they accept. Since their input is presumably valuable, provide them with a pre-read package. Participants should show up properly prepared<\/a> to make the contributions they seek. That\u2019s why we call them subject matter experts<\/a>. Read our article on “Meeting Announcements<\/a>”\u00a0for other meeting announcement considerations prior to shipping your pre-read packages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Penalize people who are on time.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Meeting

#7 – Disregard the use of any ground rules.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Meeting Killers: I<\/span>magine it\u2019s one of those days when you have two or three meetings back to back. Time is precious, so you make sure to arrive on time, only to discover the meeting will be delayed (and possibly run late) because the session leader insists on waiting for latecomers.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As a professional session leader, do NOT wait for people who are running late. You do NOT want to penalize people who are on time. You don\u2019t even know if the people who are tardy will show up at all, so start promptly.<\/span><\/p>\n

If someone does show up late and needs to be informed or updated, pair them off with someone and ask them to go in the hallway for a quick debrief, while you continue.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last thing you want to do is stop the meeting and review (i.e., repeat) what has already transpired. Do NOT penalize everyone else and force them to waste time reviewing things they\u2019ve already heard once, twice, or even three times. Note that the first ground rule<\/a> we recommend is \u201cBe Here Now\u201d. \u00a0Control context<\/a> and be an enforcer, not a wimp. We also recommend starting your meetings five minutes after the normal start time. Conclude five minutes early. Be the one kind enough to know that participants deserve a few minutes between meetings to attend to stuff. Enhance your track record with punctuality and your reputation will soar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t have a deliverable or any concept of what DONE looks like.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Meeting Killers: Have you ever been in a meeting where everyone seemed to have their own discrete and sometimes competing purpose?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As a professional<\/a> leader, it\u2019s your job to ensure everyone fully understands the purpose of the meeting<\/a>. Professional leaders always have a vision of success. More concretely, they can visualize what the meeting will produce or deliver. Steven Covey<\/a> used the expression \u201cStart with the End in Mind.\u201d We prefer the expression of knowing what DONE looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t have an agenda or any structure.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Meeting Killers: Have you ever been in a meeting where one comment (or one person) suddenly sends the discussion\u2014or, worse yet, the entire meeting–in a completely new and unrelated direction?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As the meeting leader, it\u2019s your job to prevent meeting scope creep<\/a> from the beginning<\/a> until the end. Limit discussion unrelated to your deliverable. Your agenda is a road map that tells the group how you are going to get them to the deliverable. There is more than one right answer, so do not permit any arguments around context. As a leader, you have predetermined the best way, given your constraints, to get there. Not having an agenda is truly the \u2018kiss of death.\u2019\u00a0 Our curriculum focuses on agendas and tools. We provide many specific and useful suggestions for building agendas, here are a few:<\/span><\/p>\n