You probably have and will experience many poorly planned meetings that seem to suck the life out of everyone in the room. To avoid the same mistakes others have made, first you must be aware of them. The following is a list of common meeting pitfalls:
No clear agenda: This leads to unprepared attendees and no clear goal to accomplish, which makes attendees feel like the meeting was a waste of time. Make sure everyone knows the agenda and the goal for the meeting. Best practice is to print the agenda, have it shown on a screen, or write it on a whiteboard for everyone to see at the start of the meeting.
Delayed start: This is not only disrespectful to the attendees, but also forces the meeting to either go beyond the allotted time or rush the discussion. Make it a matter of habit to start your meetings promptly, even if you need to arrive a few minutes earlier to set up, it will be worth it. As people realize you start every meeting on time, they will start making it on time...