General meeting goals are the broad-range reasons for calling a meeting. Typical examples of general meeting goals include: identifying or solving problems, brainstorming ideas, gathering or organizing information, decision making, and planning.

To establish a specific meeting purpose, delineate precisely what outcome you hope to accomplish, using this phrasing: “As a result of this meeting, we will __________.” The table on the facing page shows some examples of general meeting goals followed by a specific meeting purpose.

Hold a meeting if you need to: (1) gather information from a group—not if you already have enough information, (2) make a group decision—not if you have already made the decision, or (3) build group commitment, relationship, identity, or morale.

Don’t waste people’s time in meetings in which they have no input or reason to be there. Instead, speak to an individual—not to a group—when you want to: (1) elicit individual feedback or response, (2) build an individual relationship or rapport, or (3) deal with a sensitive or negative issue—too sensitive or negative to discuss in a group. Remember, however, the disadvantages of speaking to one person only: (1) Speaking to only one person may make those with whom you do not speak feel excluded. (2) If you speak with more than one person separately, they will each hear slightly different information at different times.

Don’t waste people’s time in a meeting when you do not need interaction—such as for routine announcements, clarifications, or confirmation. People can read much faster than they can hear. Therefore, write when you (1) do not need interaction, (2) need precise wording (because you can edit), (3) have a great deal of detail (because readers can assimilate more detail than listeners can). If you write, however, you will have (1) no control over if or when the message is received, (2) a delayed response, if any, (3) no nonverbal communication, and (4) a possible lack of flexibility and too much rigidity.

To decide between a meeting and a presentation, think about which of two communication styles would be most effective to accomplish your purpose: “tell/sell” style or “consult/join” style. Choose to hold a meeting only for the consult/join style—that is, when you want to (1) gather information, (2) hear others’ opinions, ideas, or input, or (3) discuss ideas or make a decision as a group. On the other hand, choose to make a presentation for the tell/sell style—that is, when you want to inform or persuade, when you (1) have sufficient information already, (2) do not need to hear others’ opinions, ideas, or inputs, or (3) want to control the message content yourself, without discussion or a decision made by others.

The table below includes examples of some communication purposes best met by presentations versus meetings.

To make a meeting successful, in the words of meeting expert Michael Begeman, “first you have to have agreement among people that meetings are work—they are not an empty ritual to be suffered through before getting ’back to the office.’ Meetings are events in which real work takes place. That’s a big mind flip. . . As more and more of what people do takes place in teams, meetings become the setting in which most of the really important work gets done.”

Nobody expects most business projects—for example, designing a product or preparing a presentation—to be easy. You don’t just start manufacturing a product or just start talking off the top of your head; instead, you think, plan, and design first. Similarly, great meetings don’t just happen; they are designed. Once you consider meetings “real work,” it is obvious that you need to plan as carefully as you would for other important business projects.

One thing that makes meetings particularly hard work is the constant need to balance two mutually exclusive needs—the need to maximize speed and get done on time, and the need to maximize input and take the time needed to be thoughtful and creative. This balance, as identified by conflict expert Lindsay Rahmun, is summarized in the table on the facing page.