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Meetings are an important tool for most people who work in housing 鈥� whether they鈥檙e tenant consultations or internal policy discussions. They can be much more effective than working on things alone or sending interminable emails.

But at times, attending a meeting can feel like being held in a room against your will: after several hours people are ejected, blinking and bewildered, wondering what they鈥檙e supposed to have achieved.

With the government鈥檚 efficiency targets putting pressure on everyone to do more work in less time, this type of unproductive meeting needs to be consigned to history. So how can you make sure that you get the most out of meetings?

Slack agendas, poor preparation and vague end times can all hinder a meeting鈥檚 success. But with the right approach, you can ensure a productive result. Liz Kemp, senior consultant for training provider Capita Learning and Development, says: 鈥淢eetings are an opportunity to build relationships, and allow people to concentrate on problems. They are much more effective than an ad hoc chat across the desk.鈥�

Preparation is vital, Kemp says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 surprising how often people aren鈥檛 clear about the purpose of the meeting. You should prepare any views or facts on issues that will come up. If you鈥檙e going to persuade others you鈥檒l need a strong case.鈥�

If you鈥檙e unsure why you have been asked to attend, have a chat with the person who called the meeting and ask them what is going to be covered. If there is no real reason for you to be there, Mike Forster, an independent management consultant, says there is nothing wrong with declining to attend. 鈥淏eware of meetings called for no good reason other than that the person who called it wants to be seen to be doing something,鈥� he warns. And if you鈥檙e inviting others to a meeting, Forster advises considering how much they are all paid. 鈥淲ould you happily hand over that much in cash out of a budget to pay for the meeting?鈥�

The agenda should be a series of questions, not topics, Forster says. 鈥淒on鈥檛 go in saying, 鈥榳e really don鈥檛 know what to do about this, so let鈥檚 discuss it鈥�. You鈥檒l have a four-hour meeting ahead of you. It鈥檚 much better to say, 鈥榳e suggest taking project X in this direction, do you agree?鈥欌��

Setting an immovable finish time also helps people focus on issues at hand. Foster even advises inventing an appointment for about the time you think the meeting should reasonably finish. 鈥淵ou get an excuse to leave and the business that concerns you may even be moved to the top of the agenda,鈥� he says.

Meetings can be derailed by one person dominating the discussion. If you鈥檙e running the meeting you can tackle this problem by pre-agreeing the amount of time each person will have to say their piece, uninterrupted. If someone over-runs their alloted time, Kemp suggests saying something like: 鈥淚鈥檓 going to stop you there because we need to let other people share their views, but thank you.鈥�

There is nothing as excruciating as a serious argument breaking out in a meeting. Warren Wint, managing director of Total Success Training, recommends intervening. 鈥淪ummarise each party鈥檚 points of view and pick out all the things they agree on as well as those they are disagreeing about. To move on you might need to have the two people meet separately to thrash it out, or you may need to agree a way of reaching a consensus.鈥�

You could even go for a vote. Wint says that where an issue appears to be dividing a group, often a vote will reveal that only one person is really opposed to the majority view.

Of course, one of the best ways to improve is by learning from experience. When the meeting ends, evaluate it and decide what you could do to make it run even more smoothly the next time. That way, next time hopefully it will.