Boring Meetings Suck: Get More Out of Your Meetings, or Get Out of More Meetings

Foreword Don The Idea Guy Snyder xi

Agenda Item 1 Boring Meetings Suck . . . so Why Do We Have ’Em? 1

Hey, Not All Meetings Suck 3

Nothing More Boring Than a Boring Book

about Boring Meetings 4

What’s in It for You? 5

How Do You Use This Book? Jump in and Read the Agenda Item You Need 7

Are You Ready to Make Meetings Rock? 7

Agenda Item 2 Better Meetings and Conventions through Technology . . . but Please Proceed with Caution 9

The Very Basics 14

Enhanced Meeting Technologies 15

For the More Adventurous 20

For the Outright Daring 21

Agenda Item 3 How to Be a Meeting Superhero . . . in 10 Minutes or Less 25

Part 1: New Meeting Styles 26

New Meeting Style 1: ‘‘Open House’’ 26

New Meeting Style 2: ‘‘Pass the Buck’’ 30

New Meeting Style 3: ‘‘Stand It Up’’ 33

New Meeting Style 4: ‘‘Triple T Your Way to New Ideas’’ 36

Part 2: Speed Meetings 40

Speed Meeting Type 1: ‘‘Two ’n Out’’ 40

Speed Meeting Type 2: ‘‘Step It Up’’ 43

Speed Meeting Type 3: ‘‘I Gotta Use It’’ 46

Agenda Item 4 Why Everyday Office Meetings Suck . . . Skip This and You’re Screwed 49

Your Preparation Sucks 50

Having No Agenda Sucks 55

Your Follow-Up Sucks 59

Scheduling a Meeting Sucks 63

Warning: Problem Solving at 8 AM and 6 PM Sucks 66

The Overinvitation Sucks 69

Starting Late Sucks 73

‘‘Dogs Who Get Off the Leash’’ Suck 80

Conference Rooms Suck 84

Agenda Item 5 Your Presentation Sucks . . . Really, Yours Sucks 93

PowerPoint Sucks 97

‘‘Um . . . aah’’ Sucks 102

PowerPoint Really Sucks 105

Monotone Speeches and Movements Suck 109

Unreadable Slides Suck 117

Cutesy Moving Graphics Suck 121

Agenda Item 6 Make the Best of Sucky Meetings . . . or Get Out While You Can 123

Never-Ending Meetings Suck 123

Deja Meetings Suck 132

Project and Update Meetings Suck 136

Scattered Showers’ Meetings Suck 140

Conference Calls Suck 145

Sales Team Meetings Suck 153

Online or Virtual Meetings Suck 158

Videoconferencing Sucks 163

Friday Meetings Suck 167

Agenda Item 7 Big Meetings Suck Even Bigger . . . Get Some Help or Suffer the Consequences 169

Poorly Planned Meetings Suck 170

Annual Meetings, Conventions, Teambuilding, and Company Retreats Suck 176

Bad Audio Sucks 180

Distractions Suck 184

Guest Speakers Suck 190

No Introduction and Bad Introductions Suck 192

Bad Emcees Suck 195

Agenda Item 8 Heed This . . . or Continue to Suck for the Next Millennium 201

Consider Not Having One 202

What You Can Do When Stuck in a Boring Meeting 205

Conclusion 210

Acknowledgments 213

About the Author 215

Index 217