I've never met anyone who enjoys going to meetings, especially long ones. Yet, we spend a significant part of our lives, planning, scheduling, leading or attending them. Whether or not there should be a meeting is an entirely separate subject. But, if it's determined a meeting is necessary, how can we make them better? A good start is to make them shorter. Why are meeting blocks almost always assigned an hour or 30 minutes of our time? Is it simply the result of the default block in our computer calendar? What happens to the meeting if we commit to only 15 minutes instead? Or, 5, 10 or even 12 minutes? What would happen to attendance? How would the attendees posture change?
A 30 minute, thrilling roller coaster ride is too long for most people. 5 or 10 minutes is enough. However, the same could be said about a mundane and gentle roller coaster, like those for small children. An adult has usually had their fill after a short trip. Making something longer doesn't usually making it better. A longer speech or plane ride rarely qualifies as better. Almost always, the opposite is true. Shorter is better.
The question then is what to do with the shorter to make sure it's better. What does the ride need to feel like in order to be successful? What can we do to our short meeting to achieve the desired result? Most Ted Talks are less than 20 minutes...on purpose. This is the length of time most of us will endure to see what's on offer. This puts the burden of making something impactful, remarkable, something which shouldn't be missed, on the presenter. If the rules apply to some of the best presentations in the world, they apply in the meeting world as well.
Treat every meeting like it's the only one, like it's the last time to meet...the opportunity to make people feel like they're glad they came. And please, make them shorter.
P.S. Go to Calendar Settings to change default meeting times in Google Calendar. Alas, there isn’t an option to adjust the meeting length in IOS settings. But, using Siri is a good workaround. Hey Siri, add a meeting with Dave tomorrow for 15 minutes.