How to avoid the feeling of "this meeting could have been an email" pt2

Among the various monthly meetings I attend, there are four where I’ve taken on a more hands-on role — not just showing up, but shaping the conversation. These include senior leadership, Commercial team, Finance team, and general Management catch-ups. In these meetings, I’m now responsible for developing the agenda and pulling together pre-read decks or slide packs.

Now, while participation has always been decent, I noticed something was lacking: the quality of discussion and the actual outcomes. Too often, meetings felt like a box-ticking exercise — conversations stayed surface-level, and decisions were slow or absent altogether.

So during the first half of this year, I made it my mission to shake things up. What came out of that experiment? Three simple but powerful lessons that genuinely changed how these meetings feel, flow, and function.

1. The Agenda Isn’t Just a Template — It’s a Tool

When putting together the agenda, it’s tempting to fall back on the usual suspects: actions from last meeting, finance updates, general business round-up. Rinse and repeat.

But to keep things fresh — and to make people feel like it’s worth showing up — I started mixing it up. I now include recurring themes I hear on the office floor, concerns people casually drop in meetings or 1:1s, or even questions that land in my principal’s inbox. These items aren’t always “big” in a traditional sense, but they often speak to what’s really on people’s minds. And guess what? When the agenda reflects that, the engagement level goes way up.

2. Pre-reads Are Game-Changing

Every meeting now includes a pre-read — whether it’s the full slide deck or a stripped-down summary. At the very least, this gives people a chance to prep. But more importantly, it means discussions are sharper, questions are more informed, and meetings don’t waste time on explaining the basics.

In one of the meetings I run, this approach has led to a full-on format change. The first 30 minutes are now for “special topics” (think: open debates, deeper dives), and the next 45 are Q&A based on the pre-read. Presentations are out; dialogue is in. And because people have had time to digest the material, conversations are way more useful — and often spark ideas for what we tackle next month.

3. Ban the Slide Readout

If you’ve ever sat through someone reading a slide word-for-word, you know the pain. It’s slow, awkward, and it kills the flow of any real discussion.

So I introduced a new expectation: slides are there for context — not as a script. Presenters should know their stuff well enough to speak naturally, referring to slides only when needed. This one shift has made meetings feel more like conversations and less like lectures. Bonus: slides have become cleaner and clearer, since no one’s relying on them to do all the talking.

Wrap-Up: Meetings Can Be Better

None of these changes are rocket science — but together, they’ve made a big difference. Meetings are shorter, more focused, and actually useful. We’ve made space for the stuff that matters and cut out the noise.

If you’re stuck in a loop of meetings that feel like time drains, try testing one or two of these ideas. Even small tweaks can go a long way.

And if you’ve got your own hacks or horror stories — share them! The only thing worse than a bad meeting is repeating it every month.

Quick Checklist: Upgrade Your Monthly Meetings

✅ Diversify your agenda: Add topics from informal conversations, team emails, and cross-functional themes

✅ Always send a pre-read: A deck or summary — but make sure it lands before the meeting

✅ Rework your format: Consider a “special topics” slot or Q&A-only segments

✅ Set expectations upfront: No reading from slides; presenters should speak to their points

✅ Streamline your slides: Use visuals and concise points; save the story for live delivery

✅ Invite contributions: Encourage attendees to submit agenda items or post-meeting feedback

✅ Follow up on impact: Highlight decisions made or actions taken as a result of changes