Meetings That Matter: Turning Chaos Into Clarity

We’ve all been there:

• You sit through a meeting with no clear purpose.
• People talk in circles, but nothing gets done.
• Half the team zones out, and the other half scrolls Slack or email.

The meeting ends, and you walk away thinking, “What was that even for?”

Bad meetings aren’t just annoying—they’re expensive. They waste time, kill morale, and leave teams more confused than when they started. But here’s the good news: most meetings don’t suck because people are lazy. They suck because they lack structure, facilitation, and equity.

Facilitation is the unsung hero of effective meetings. A good facilitator doesn’t just “run” the meeting—they create the conditions for productive, focused, and equitable collaboration.

And you can learn how to do it.

Why Meetings Fall Apart

Most meetings go off the rails for three big reasons:

1. No Clear Purpose
   If no one knows what the meeting is for, how can you tell if it was successful? You can’t. Meetings without purpose devolve into updates, tangents, or silence.

2. No Structure
   A meeting without structure is like a classroom without a lesson plan: chaotic and unproductive. People need a clear flow to stay focused and engaged.

3. No Equity in Participation
   Most meetings are caucus style—whoever talks the loudest or longest holds the floor. Quiet team members get lost in the mix, brilliant ideas never surface, and the loudest voices dominate decision-making.

Why Equity in Meetings Matters

Chelsea Troy wrote a fantastic piece about why most remote meetings suck, and she nails it: meetings often reward whoever is the quickest to jump in or the most comfortable holding the mic. This “caucus effect” tends to:

• Prioritize the loudest voices over the most thoughtful ones.
• Leave quieter team members disengaged or overlooked.
• Miss out on valuable ideas simply because people don’t get a chance to share.

As a facilitator, you’re responsible for leveling the playing field. Good meetings are about equity—making sure every voice has an opportunity to contribute.

The Teacher Connection: Creating Equity in Conversations

This was a lesson I learned early on as a teacher. In a classroom, the loud kids tend to answer first while the quieter students sit back. My job was to create space for everyone—whether that meant using raised hands, think-pair-share activities, or group work where ideas could surface more comfortably.

Meetings work the same way. If you’re not intentionally designing for equity, you’re unintentionally rewarding dominance.

How to Fix It:

1. Use a Shared Visual Workspace:

   • Tools like Miro, Google Docs, or FigJam allow everyone to contribute ideas in parallel—not sequentially. Quieter team members can add their thoughts without waiting for the floor.
   • Bonus: Shared spaces also spread the cognitive load of notetaking across the team, rather than dumping it on one person.

2. Integrate “Hand Raising” Norms:

   • In remote meetings, use tools like Zoom’s hand-raising feature or a visible queue for contributions. Call on people intentionally, not just the ones who jump in first.
   • For in-person meetings, try asking: “Who haven’t we heard from yet?”

3. Seed the Space Beforehand:

   • Set up your shared workspace with prompts or sections before the meeting starts. This gives people time to think through their contributions and participate at their own pace.

The result?

• Quieter team members have equal opportunities to share.
• The loudest voices don’t dominate.
• You capture better, more diverse ideas.

What This Series Will Teach You

Over the next few posts, I’m going to take you from zero to hero in meeting facilitation. You’ll learn the strategies I’ve refined as both a teacher and a tech leader to run meetings that people actually want to show up to.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

1. Start With a Plan

   • Define the purpose of the meeting: What are you trying to walk away with? A decision? Action items? Alignment?
   • Break the meeting into 10-minute chunks so your time matches your content.

2. Build a Shared Workspace

   • Use tools like Google Docs, FigJam, or a whiteboard to keep everyone on the same page during the meeting.
   • Seed the space beforehand with prompts or notes to guide collaboration.

3. Keep Things on Track

   • Learn the art of time-boxing to keep discussions focused and prevent meetings from running long.

4. Drive Accountability

   • Assign clear ownership for decisions and action items so the meeting doesn’t end in ambiguity.

5. Plan for Roadblocks

   • Use a “pre-mortem” to anticipate and prepare for tricky dynamics or tough topics.

By the end of this series, you’ll know how to create meetings that are focused, equitable, productive, and maybe even (dare I say it?) enjoyable.

Your First Step: Ask Yourself This

Before your next meeting, take 2 minutes and ask:

• What’s the purpose of this meeting?
• Who needs to be heard in this conversation? How will I create space for them to contribute?

If you can’t answer that, don’t call the meeting.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I’ll break down how to plan your meetings with purpose and precision—10 minutes at a time.

Because meetings shouldn’t suck. And with the right facilitation, they won’t.

Want help transforming your team’s meetings?
Let’s design systems that drive better conversations, outcomes, and results.