(A short survival guide for people who are slowly dying inside on Zoom.)
Internal business meetings suck.
They’re boring. They take too long. They’re not fun. Nothing gets done.
And if you’re nodding your head right now like a dashboard bobblehead… I’ve got news for you:
You’re doing it wrong.
Meetings aren’t supposed to feel like being trapped in a dentist chair while someone reads the employee handbook out loud. A good meeting creates energy. It creates alignment. It creates movement. It makes people feel like they’re part of something that matters.
A bad meeting?
A bad meeting is a slow-motion productivity murder.
So let’s fix it.
Here are my best tips to avoid death by meeting and run meetings that don’t suck… too much.
1) Start on time. Close the door. Be ruthless.
Promptness is leadership.
If your meeting starts at 10 am, start at 10 am. Not 10:04. Not 10:07. Not “we’ll give people a few minutes to join.”
No. Close the door and start on time.
And here’s the trick that changes everything:
Make the beginning of the meeting something people don’t want to miss.
Do something fun. Share something interesting. Start with a quick story, a win, a weird customer quote, a meme, a “what I learned this week,” whatever fits your culture.
Because when the first five minutes are actually enjoyable, people show up on time.
And latecomers?
They don’t get to participate in the fun.
That’s the tax. That’s the consequence. That’s how you train adults to act like adults.
If you wait for latecomers, your meetings will never start on time. Ever. Not once. Not in this lifetime.
2) Encourage debate (or you’re just hosting a nap)
If everyone agrees in your meeting, one of three things is true:
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You’re doing everything right. (Hint: you’re not.)
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People don’t care enough to engage. (Wrong topic, wrong people, or both.)
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People don’t trust each other enough to speak up. (That’s on you.)
Good meetings require participation. Real participation. Not “any questions?” followed by a silence so long you can hear the building HVAC system breathing.
So do this:
Put debate on the calendar inside the meeting.
Say something like:
“Alright, everyone. Tell me how we can do this better. You have 10 minutes.”
Then shut up and let them talk.
Also—don’t allow wallflowers to hide. Pull them in. Ask them directly. Make it safe, but make it real.
Debate isn’t conflict.
Debate is how smart teams avoid dumb decisions.
3) Keep it short. Nobody wants a two-hour hostage situation.
Unless it’s an all-day offsite with a real purpose, your meeting should be no more than one hour.
Set an end time.
And end on time.
It’s amazing what happens when people realize there’s a finish line. They get sharper. They stop rambling. They get to the point. Miracles occur.
Time limits don’t kill conversation.
They force clarity.
4) Stay on topic with a “Parking Lot” (and a Parking Lot attendant)
This one is non-negotiable.
Every meeting gets derailed by the same thing:
Someone goes on a tangent.
Then someone else jumps on it.
Then suddenly you’re debating the office snack budget like it’s the Treaty of Versailles.
So you need a Parking Lot.
Put it on a whiteboard. Put it on a flip chart. Put it in a shared doc. Whatever.
When something important comes up but it’s off-topic or too big to solve in the moment, you say:
“Great topic. Parking Lot.”
Write it down.
Then keep moving.
Bonus move: assign a Parking Lot attendant.
Someone’s job is to catch tangents and record them without judgment.
It keeps the meeting moving and it makes people feel heard.
And the Parking Lot isn’t a graveyard.
It becomes:
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agenda items for future meetings
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offline follow-ups
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leadership action items
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“we should talk about this, but not right now” topics
That’s how you stay focused without being dismissive.
5) Don’t mix strategy and tactics (it confuses everyone and solves nothing)
This is where a lot of meetings die.
Strategy and tactics are not the same conversation.
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Strategic meetings are about Why and defining the What
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Tactical meetings are about the How
So declare the type of meeting upfront.
If it’s strategy, don’t let people disappear into implementation details.
If it’s tactical, don’t let people drift into philosophy and vision quests.
Pick a lane. Stay in it. Your team will thank you.
6) Capture the best quotes (yes, I’m serious)
Want to keep people engaged?
Have someone keep track of significant, deep, or hilarious quotes during the meeting.
Then include them in the follow-up note.
Why does this work?
Because when people know their words might get captured and repeated, they:
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pay attention
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speak more intentionally
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show up with better thinking
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stay engaged because the meeting feels alive
It also builds culture. It turns meetings into something with personality instead of corporate oatmeal.
And let’s be honest: a good quote recap is sometimes the only thing people remember.
7) End with an action list (or the meeting was just theater)
This is where meetings either become useful… or become performance art.
Every meeting should end with:
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Action items
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Assigned owners
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Dates to report back
Not “we should look into that.”
Not “someone take this offline.”
Not “let’s circle back.”
No.
Who is doing what, by when?
If it doesn’t have a noun, a verb, and a date, it’s not a plan.
It’s a wish.
8) Send a follow-up note fast (while it’s still alive)
If your follow-up email comes three days later, it’s too late.
People have moved on. They forgot what was decided. The energy is gone. The meeting evaporated.
Send the follow-up quickly:
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recap decisions
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list action items and owners
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include the dates
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include the best quotes (seriously—do it)
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list Parking Lot topics
Pro move:
Record the meeting, get a transcript, and use AI to summarize it.
Not because AI is magic.
Because you’re busy and you shouldn’t spend your life writing meeting notes like a court stenographer.
The bottom line: meetings can create energy, not drain it
I run monthly CEO peer group meetings, and I do what I can to ensure there are no death-by-meeting fatalities in my groups.
Because when meetings are run well, people leave with:
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clarity
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momentum
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accountability
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better decisions
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and sometimes even a laugh
If you do meetings right, your team will actually look forward to them.
Or at least… they won’t fantasize about faking a power outage to escape.
Want to see what a meeting looks like when it doesn’t suck?
If you’d like to join a group of business leaders in one of my monthly CEO peer groups and experience a meeting that’s productive, focused, and maybe even fun…
Or if you want help spicing up your meetings with a professional facilitator…
Press that button down there and schedule a call.
Let’s bring your meetings back from the dead.
I’m an executive coach and a peer group facilitator. I run meetings for a living. Want to talk about your business, leadership skills or business? Try a complimentary coaching call here.
