There are reasons meetings are the bane of far too many workplaces. A bad meeting can be a soul-sucking waste of time: one or two people dominate the discussion, or the agenda goes out the window, or there’s no clear follow-up. Or all, of the above – heaven forbid!

With your preparation superpower, and your own personal understanding of how meetings can go wrong, you can create and facilitate meetings that work for everyone.

Before the Meeting

– First, make sure the meeting really is necessary. Ask yourself whether this issue or topic can be more effectively handled with an email, a call, or even a quick face-to-face conversation. If it can, then do that. Save face-to-face meetings for when they’re the best way to bring people together and make decisions.

– Then, make sure the right people are in the room. What divisions or departments need to weigh in? Make sure they’re represented.

– Develop an effective agenda. I have used, with great success, an agenda that includes not just the issue to be discussed, but also who will lead the discussion, how much time will be allotted for the topic, the proposed outcome (decision, further action, etc.), and the materials participants will need in order to contribute to the discussion (financials, calendar, etc.).

– Make sure that great agenda goes out a few days to a week in advance of the meeting. This will give everyone, introverts included, a chance to think about the topics and proposed outcomes.

During the Meeting

– Whether you are chairing the meeting or someone else is, make sure that there are shared understandings for how it will go. Set the expectation that the meeting will be more than a one- or two-person event. Enforce the norm that only one person may speak at a time. Ask quieter folks for their opinion. Don’t be afraid of silence.

– Let people know they can contact you after the meeting with any additional thoughts. This way, quieter folks whose thoughts don’t fully crystallize until afterward can contribute in a way that’s comfortable for them.

– Be sure any follow up tasks are assigned, complete with due dates.

After the Meeting

– Solicit input from participants who didn’t have much to say. Reinforce your willingness to hear ideas outside the meeting.

– Make sure a strong meeting summary goes out, including decisions made, future steps, and deadlines.

Terrible meetings are terrible for everyone, not just introverts. With some thought and some creative approaches, meetings can be productive, helpful, and even enjoyable.

What techniques have you used to make meetings better? Drop a line in the comments.