If you are having a meeting (or a conference call) to review a document, here are three things that can make it helpful:
- Insist that whatever is being reviewed get shared ahead of time, with ample time to read
- Insist that participants edit the document using Track Changes ahead of time, send the changes directly to the author
- Use this agenda: 1) overall comments; 2) section-by-section quick recap; 3) other items that have come up; 4) next steps, by whom and by when.
Using this approach, the time together can be made most useful. Meetings are good places for things that cannot be accomplished in other ways — things that require more than one brain. In other words, overall and creative discussions. A meeting where you are going over line edits, or talking about a document that no one has read, is not worth anyone’s time. Similarly, if someone is hijacking everyone else’s time to convey line edits that are better conveyed in writing, that’s not worth anyone’s time either.
While this all sounds very sensible, it is easier said than done. Everyone needs to do their part. And it takes a strong leader.
- The writer might use the meeting itself as their deadline, and share their document almost immediately before the meeting. If this happens, reschedule the meeting because it will be worthless.
- Participants may decide it is “easier” to just “talk through” their changes in the meeting. This is an illusion, because it adds churn. (And it actually takes more of that person’s time to “talk through” than it would to just make edits.) Except when there are specific and limited changes, this almost always adds ambiguity. If too many people are doing this, it is a good idea for the meeting leader to intervene and say, “Everyone will get their specific changes to the writer. Let’s focus only on overall issues.”
Like this? You might also like my Nine Tips For Better Meetings.
Brad Rourke 
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