Table of Contents
Foreword Don The Idea Guy Snyder xi
Agenda Item 1 Boring Meetings Suck . . . so Why Do We Have ’Em? 1
Hey, Not All Meetings Suck 3
Nothing More Boring Than a Boring Book
about Boring Meetings 4
What’s in It for You? 5
How Do You Use This Book? Jump in and Read the Agenda Item You Need 7
Are You Ready to Make Meetings Rock? 7
Agenda Item 2 Better Meetings and Conventions through Technology . . . but Please Proceed with Caution 9
The Very Basics 14
Enhanced Meeting Technologies 15
For the More Adventurous 20
For the Outright Daring 21
Agenda Item 3 How to Be a Meeting Superhero . . . in 10 Minutes or Less 25
Part 1: New Meeting Styles 26
New Meeting Style 1: ‘‘Open House’’ 26
New Meeting Style 2: ‘‘Pass the Buck’’ 30
New Meeting Style 3: ‘‘Stand It Up’’ 33
New Meeting Style 4: ‘‘Triple T Your Way to New Ideas’’ 36
Part 2: Speed Meetings 40
Speed Meeting Type 1: ‘‘Two ’n Out’’ 40
Speed Meeting Type 2: ‘‘Step It Up’’ 43
Speed Meeting Type 3: ‘‘I Gotta Use It’’ 46
Agenda Item 4 Why Everyday Office Meetings Suck . . . Skip This and You’re Screwed 49
Your Preparation Sucks 50
Having No Agenda Sucks 55
Your Follow-Up Sucks 59
Scheduling a Meeting Sucks 63
Warning: Problem Solving at 8 AM and 6 PM Sucks 66
The Overinvitation Sucks 69
Starting Late Sucks 73
‘‘Dogs Who Get Off the Leash’’ Suck 80
Conference Rooms Suck 84
Agenda Item 5 Your Presentation Sucks . . . Really, Yours Sucks 93
PowerPoint Sucks 97
‘‘Um . . . aah’’ Sucks 102
PowerPoint Really Sucks 105
Monotone Speeches and Movements Suck 109
Unreadable Slides Suck 117
Cutesy Moving Graphics Suck 121
Agenda Item 6 Make the Best of Sucky Meetings . . . or Get Out While You Can 123
Never-Ending Meetings Suck 123
Deja Meetings Suck 132
Project and Update Meetings Suck 136
Scattered Showers’ Meetings Suck 140
Conference Calls Suck 145
Sales Team Meetings Suck 153
Online or Virtual Meetings Suck 158
Videoconferencing Sucks 163
Friday Meetings Suck 167
Agenda Item 7 Big Meetings Suck Even Bigger . . . Get Some Help or Suffer the Consequences 169
Poorly Planned Meetings Suck 170
Annual Meetings, Conventions, Teambuilding, and Company Retreats Suck 176
Bad Audio Sucks 180
Distractions Suck 184
Guest Speakers Suck 190
No Introduction and Bad Introductions Suck 192
Bad Emcees Suck 195
Agenda Item 8 Heed This . . . or Continue to Suck for the Next Millennium 201
Consider Not Having One 202
What You Can Do When Stuck in a Boring Meeting 205
Conclusion 210
Acknowledgments 213
About the Author 215
Index 217
