As technology advances, we spend more time communicating using email, text, web conferences and online social networks, but despite this, face-to-face meetings are still necessary. Unfortunately, many meetings are unproductive and frustrating and don’t make the best use of the time. Key to making meetings productive is the preparation in advance of a meeting. This is how to prepare so that your meetings are as effective as possible.

1 Is it worth it?
Think about whether you really need to have a meeting. Consider what you want to happen as a result of this meeting and whether you could achieve this without a face-to-face meeting. Many of the most time-wasting meetings are the ones that shouldn’t have been called in the first place.