by Lucius Trae

Created on: July 10, 2010   Last Updated: March 07, 2011

Boring meetings are a difficult reality for many employees and employers alike. However, there are a variety of ways you can make these meetings more tolerable. Of course, the environment will differ from place to place. If you're meeting in an auditorium, you may be able to sit in the back and play video games. Unfortunately, most meetings occur in the stereotypical round table fashion. Or perhaps better called, "if we have to suffer, you're suffering with us" table. Everyone will know if you're looking at pictures of puppies, so it's best to focus on the meeting. How can you get through the horror?

Well, you have to ask yourself; why is this meeting boring? It's probably a combination of the content and the speakers. If someone lacks charisma, people will be less focused and interested in what they have to say. In other cases, you are witnessing squabbles over minor issues and an inability to resolve simple problems. Steve thinks the meetings should break to incorporate the prayer times of Muslim workers, Jane thinks they should move the meeting to a different time, and Michael says they should just run the company based on Pacific instead of Eastern time. Michael isn't popular in the office. Nonetheless, these are the realities, and you can help address these problems by taking a leadership role.

More specifically, I've had the experience of working in groups throughout my life. In many cases, I let incompetency thrive and it was an incredibly frustrating endeavor. In one case, though, some of the "slackers" were friends of mine assigned to work with me. Because I knew them, I was less reluctant to be upfront and confident. If someone is directed in the right way, they can be effective. If people are arguing over a simple issue, provide solutions to the problem. Maintain a calm and confident tone and do not engage them as if you are actually having a debate. If someone has an incredibly silly view, such as Michael, you don't have to speak as if they have a valid opinion worth considering. You speak in a gentle and kind manner that clearly communicates they are being unwise; think of correcting a child who gave the wrong answer to a question.

Furthermore, engaging in a boring meeting allows you to have a significant degree of control over the topic. As a college student, I use a technique all the time in classes, but it can be used in meetings as well. If people are discussing the benefits of removing public health care, let's assume I disagree. Let's also

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