Meetings are the most wasteful thing I ever faced in my professional life. People are clearing out time in their schedule, always 30min or 60min no matter the subject, to discuss things that most of the time could be covered in 1-2 emails.
When calling a meeting, you insist that the others are clearing out time to talk with you and each other, and you better have a good reason to decide on other people’s time. After all, you are decreasing everyone’s time to do the work that matters (even yours).
But, how do you then turn down a meeting that you feel is a waste of time?
- Say no.
- Be clear on why you are saying no.
- Give an alternative to communication that you think will be sufficient. For example, email, chat, recorded video, voice message.
- Be polite.
- If a meeting is still needed – ask for the agenda. This will force the person who called the meeting to specify the exact purpose of the meeting.