HBR guide to making every meeting matter

Preface: The condensed guide to running meetings : the 5-minute version of everything you need to know / Amy Gallo

Section 1: Prepare

Do you really need to hold that meeting? : a simple tool to help you decide / Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Stop calling every conversation a "meeting" : we need a more effective vocabulary / Al Pittampalli

If you can't say what your meeting will accomplish, you shouldn't have it : set a purpose by answering two questions / Bob Frisch and Cary Greene

How to design an agenda for an effective meeting : a productive meeting begins here / Roger Schwarz

The key to shorter, better meetings : a filter to help you articulate your purpose / Anthony Tjan

The 50-minute meeting : build in time for transition / David Silverman

The magic of 30-minute meetings : give yourself less time and you'll get more done / Peter Bregman

Meetings need a shot clock : tackle your agenda by beating the buzzer / Bob Frisch and Cary Greene

Are there too many people in your meeting? : probably, a rule of thumb

Section 2: Conduct

Before a meeting, tell your team that silence denotes agreement : speak now or forever hold your peace / Bob Frisch and Cary Greene

Establish ground rules : set expectations for participation

Reach group decisions during meetings : you have options for gathering input and moving forward

The right way to cut people off in meetings : "Jellyfish!" / Bob Frisch and Cary Greene

Dealing with people who derail meetings : having an explicit purpose will get you back on track / Roger Schwarz

Refocus a meeting after someone interrupts : listen, validate, and redirect / Rebecca Knight

Section 3: Participate

Polite ways to decline a meeting invitation : preserve your time

and the relationship / Liane Davey

How to interject in a meeting : useful phrases to introduce ideas, disagree, and express confusion /Jodi Glickman

Stuck in a meeting from hell? : here's what to do, don't just sit there and suffer / Melissa Raffoni

7 ways to stop a meeting from dragging on : break free from the silent majority / Joseph Grenny

When your boss is terrible at leading meetings : three tactics for turning things around / Paul Axtell

Section 4: Close and follow up

The right way to end a meeting : with closure / Paul Axtell

Don't end a meeting without doing these 3 things : make sure everyone's on the same page / Bob Frisch and Cary Greene

Section 5: Specific types of meetings

What everyone should know about running virtual meetings : just three things / Paul Axtell

How to run a great virtual meeting : rules matter more / Keith Ferrazzi

Conduct a meeting of people from different cultures : help them step outside their comfort zones / Rebecca Knight

Making global meetings work : inconvenience everybody equally / June Delano

Give your standing meetings a makeover : do away with the same old-same old / Martha Craumer

How to do walking meetings right : boost your creative thinking and engagement / Russell Clayton, Chris Thomas, and Jack Smothers

Stand-up meetings don't work for everybody : are they speedy or sexist, ageist, and heightest? / Bob Frisch

Leadership summits that work : stop putting your top people to sleep / Bob Frisch and Cary Greene.