Send an agenda beforehand; avoid agenda-free meetings and consider standing for short ones
People rated meetings with advance agendas more useful. In an experiment, seated meetings lasted 34% longer than standing meetings without producing better decisions.
What it takes
Free. The organizer spends 5–10 minutes preparing the agenda; standing requires participants' cooperation.
What you may gain
Surveys of 958 and 292 people found a statistically reliable association between advance agendas and perceived meeting effectiveness. In a separate experiment, 55 seated groups met 34% longer than 56 standing groups; decision quality did not differ.
Context & considerations
The standing experiment involved five-person groups doing a laboratory task, not long or large meetings. Leach measured participants' impressions, not objective output.
Research & references
Leach, D. J., Rogelberg, S. G., Warr, P. B., & Burnfield, J. L. (2009). Perceived meeting effectiveness: The role of design characteristics. Journal of Business and Psychology, 24(1), 65–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-009-9092-6 ; Bluedorn, A. C., Turban, D. B., & Love, M. S. (1999). The effects of stand-up and sit-down meeting formats on meeting outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2). https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.84.2.277