Meetings are the absolute worst, aren’t they? They may drag on indefinitely, be completely meaningless or held at the most inconvenient times. This reality is that not all meetings are created equal — some are way worse than others. Most of us have sat through some meetings that make us want to scream. But the good news is that you can survive even the most hated ones. Here are 11 types of meetings that we hate, and how to survive them.
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The Never-Ending Meeting
These are the meetings that just don’t stop. People keep rehashing the same points, and side conversations take over – suddenly, what should’ve been 30 minutes has turned into an hour (or more). Everyone’s mentally checked out, but no one knows how to end it.
How to Survive: If you’re not running the meeting, try chiming in with something like, “Should we recap what’s been decided so far?” This can subtly nudge people toward wrapping up. If you are running it, set a timer for each agenda item and stick to it.
The Pointless Meeting
You know those meetings, where you sit there like, “What the heck am I doing here?” There is no agenda, no decisions to be made, and all the details could have been simply discussed through an email.
How to Survive: Before you get to the meeting, ask for an outline of what’s on the agenda. If you’re already there, listen for anything remotely useful. If you’re stuck, try using the time to brainstorm ideas for your own work or quietly do some trivial work while paying attention and nodding occasionally.
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The Micromanagement Meeting
These meetings are all about nitpicking every detail of your work. Instead of focusing on the big picture, the boss dives into things like font sizes, email wording, or which shade of blue is “on brand.”
How to Survive: Show up with everything they might nitpick ready to go. Anticipate their questions so you can answer quickly. If it gets too detailed, redirect by saying something like, “Can we finalize the bigger parts first and tweak details later?”
The Brainstorm That Goes Nowhere
Brainstorming can be awesome — as long as you’re organized. But sometimes, these meetings become a free-for-all in which people pitch half-baked solutions, harp on each one and then… there is nothing.
How to Survive: Make sure you have few good ideas to bring up when things get hectic. If the meeting’s off-track, record the thoughts and set up a follow-up session to figure things out.
The Overcrowded Meeting
These meetings are packed with people who don’t really need to be there. Everyone’s talking over each other, and half the room is scrolling their phones or zoning out.
How to Survive: Focus on the parts that involve you and don’t stress about staying engaged with every detail. If you’re not directly involved in most of the discussion, take notes for reference later and speak up only when it’s relevant.
The Last-Minute Meeting
You’re minding your business when suddenly someone adds a meeting on your calendar five minutes before it begins. You don’t have time to plan, you don’t know what it was and now you are stuck.
How to Survive: When you join, ask “Can you just explain briefly what we’re going over?” If you’re totally unprepared, leave your comments open ended and propose calling in later for more specifics.
The Overly Formal Meeting
This is the kind of meeting where everyone’s stiff and professional, and it feels like being back in a high school debate team. People use buzzwords like “synergy” and “leverage” way too much, and you’re just sitting there trying not to yawn.
How to Survive: Keep your responses clear and direct, but don’t overthink it. These meetings are more about optics than substance, so just focus on saying something useful when you get the chance.
The Off-Topic Meeting
Agenda says one thing, but 10 minutes later someone’s talking about their weekend or complaining about some other topic. And before you know it, the whole meeting has derailed.
How to Survive: Wait for a pause and jump in “These are great things, but should we go back to [agenda topic] so we don’t miss it?” Some may even appreciate you holding it together.
The Tech-Problem Meeting
The meeting’s supposed to start at 10 a.m., but by 10:15, people are still messing with microphones, fixing slides, or trying to find the “share screen” button.
How to Survive: Stay calm and use the downtime to organize your thoughts, check emails, or grab a quick sip of coffee. If you know how to fix the issue, offer help—otherwise, stay out of the chaos and let someone else take charge.
The Early-Morning Meeting
You just get out of bed, barely caffeinated, to a meeting where somebody’s enthusiastically showing you a 40-slide PowerPoint. Meanwhile, you’re trying to keep your eyes open.
How to Survive: Make yourself a strong cup of coffee or tea, get in the conversation early. After you’ve said your part, you can easily mentally skip through the remainder of the meeting if it drags.
The End-of-Day Meeting
It’s 4:30 p.m., you’re about to log off, and then you get the hated late meeting request. It’s like everyone’s energy left the room before the meeting even started.
How to Survive: Keep it short and steer things toward a quick conclusion. Ask to sum up next step or conclude quickly so people can end on time.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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