Meetings

Since 2000, the amount of time that we spend in meetings has increased by an estimated 10% per year. An average meeting lasts 30 to 60 minutes, and we attend up to 10 meetings a week.

A recent study in the USA revealed that workers spend an average of two hours a week in pointless meetings. Two hours per person per week has been estimated at $400 billion per year of lost productivity.

However, meetings are also important for connecting colleagues, sharing ideas and for fostering innovation and creativity.

Some tips to make meetings more productive include having an agenda and sharing it before the meeting. Limit the discussion time, take notes, and define clear action points to be followed afterwards.

Some companies have limited meetings to just one day per week. With this restriction, employees report that many issues are resolved without waiting until the next meeting day.

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Robertnew
American English

Karennew
Business English

Did you understand the text?

Please answer the following questions of understanding:

Question 1:

The amount of time we spend in meetings is _________?

a About 10% of our week

b Decreasing

c Always productive

d Increasing year on year

Question 2:

How long is an average meeting?

a A day

b 2 hours

c 30-60 minutes

d 10 minutes

Question 3:

How much time do we spend, on average, in a pointless meeting?

a 2 hours

b 10 minutes

c 30-60 minutes

d A day

Question 4:

Which of these is NOT listed as a benefit of meetings?

a Innovation

b Free coffee

c Connecting with people

d Sharing ideas

Question 5:

Which of these is NOT a tip for having productive meetings?

a Creating action points for follow-up

b Having a clear agenda

c Allowing unlimited discussion time

d Sharing the agenda before the meeting

Question 6:

What is the advantage of only allowing meetings on one day a week?

a Solving issues without needing a meeting

b Shorter meeting times

c Having more meetings

d Innovation and Creativity

Question 7:

A productive meeting is _______?

a Worthwhile

b A waste of time

c Fruitless

d Unhelpful

Question 8:

Which of these is NOT a definition of pointless?

a Irrelevant

b Aimless

c Without reason

d Necessary

Please answer all questions about the text:
You have answered 0 of 8 questions.