Here's how to avoid saying "well that meeting was a waste"​

You ever walk out of a meeting and say "why did we have that?" Or the mad scramble before the meeting to prep? Yeah, that sucks. Here are ways to make it better.

1.  Schedule it for a time when everyone can make it

No one likes attending a meeting that they had to miss half of because they had to take their kids to soccer practice. If you want people actually to show up and be engaged, you need to pick a time when everyone can be there. That means no scheduling meetings at 7 AM on a Monday or 5 PM on a Friday.

2.  Make sure there is an agenda

If you're going to have a meeting, you need to have a purpose. That means creating an agenda and sending it out to everyone in advance. That way, people can prepare for the meeting and know what they need to do to be productive. And don't be that person that adds 10 things to the agenda. It's not going to happen. 2-3 things, max. Because you should be...

3.  Keeping it short and sweet

If you want people to pay attention, you must keep your meetings short and sweet. That means ensuring each session has a purpose and sticking to that. Try to limit your discussions to 30 minutes at maximum whenever possible.

4.  Make sure someone is taking notes (or recording it)

If you're going to have a meeting, you need to ensure that someone is taking notes. That way, you can keep track of what you discussed and what tasks need completion to follow up after the meeting. These notes are critical if multiple attendees have different ideas about your discussion.

5.  Have a clear conclusion with the next steps

When your meeting is over, you should clearly understand what’s next. That means having a clear conclusion with specific action items that need to be completed by specific deadlines. These items and deadlines will help ensure that your meetings are productive and that everyone knows what to do to move forward.

That's it. 5 ways to make your next meeting a little bit more tolerable!