I have a confession to make: I have a passion for meetings. I think that every time two or more humans meet, there’s the chance of creating value.

You could say it’s my background in arts and human development but economists agree that we generate real value in our globalised, post-industrial age, when we get together to solve problems, share knowledge, organise and innovate.

People moan that meetings are getting in the way of work. But these days, they are the work. Therefore, it is vital that we learn to conduct them better. Apart from driving us nuts, poor meetings cost our businesses a fortune. A company with 1,000 executives on an average salary of £80,000 who each waste just a couple of hours a day (and it is usually far more) in ineffective meetings is throwing a whopping £25 million a year down the drain. It is also a gross misuse of valuable executive talent and missed opportunity for innovation.

We don’t mean to be wasteful. But we have fallen into bad habits. The modern business meeting has its roots in the military briefings of the Second World War, which were designed to give orders, not promote collaboration. The world has moved on and meetings have to catch up.

There are four questions you need to ask yourself to make a radical difference to your meetings. They are: why, who, where and what?

Without a compelling “why”, you are left sleepwalking through an agenda. Like the subtext of a play or inner motive of a character, intent gives a meeting direction and purpose. One business transformed the impact of a routine health and safety meeting by declaring its intent was to “keep our business safe in a dangerous world”. About 98 per cent of people we’ve asked say that focusing on intent immediately improves their meetings. It clarifies what you are doing and when you are done. Helpful, if you want shorter meetings.

Think carefully about who attends or calls in. Like a good director, get the casting right. Choose the people who will realise the intent and invite them only for the section where they will add value; otherwise it’s like a movie with everyone in every scene.

Context, “where”, gives meaning to a meeting. And meaning gives energy. You only have to sit through a meaningless meeting to know this. Start the meeting by reminding people how this event connects to the bigger picture. Get creative with the physical surroundings too. One business literally sawed up their boardroom table so they could connect better as a team. Treat the meeting room (however poorly designed) as a performance set and a tele or video conference as a broadcast.

Finally, consider the content and I do recommend you leave this to last. Once you understand why, who and where, you are meeting, it will be clear what content to include and leave out. Avoid anything that could be better communicated offline in a document, PowerPoint or e-mail. Focus on engagement, on really listening and using your precious time to generate real value.

It’s never been more important for our businesses, our economy or our world that we meet each other in ways that are effective, satisfying and rewarding. There is much to do. What are you waiting for?

• David Pearl describes himself as a meeting doctor. He has set up a Meeting Hospital programme to help companies to improve their meetings. www.pearlgroup.net

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