Meetings Suck—Here are the Science-Backed Ways to Fix Them

Meetings Suck—Here are the Science-Backed Ways to Fix Them

From Per My Last Email by Morning Brew

April 20, 2026 · 39 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the science behind ineffective meetings and offers research-backed strategies for improving them.

In this episode, Kaila and Kyle are joined by Rebecca Hinds, PhD, author of Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done. Rebecca breaks down the science behind why meetings so often fail—and shares research-backed tactics to decide which meetings are actually worth having, and how to design them for better outcomes. 00:00 Intro 02:36 Why do meetings suck? 03:47 Meeting Doomsday 05:40 Determining which meetings are actually useful 08:03 Considering remote employees 10:11 Making better meeting agendas 13:53 How to stop attendance inflation 16:13 How to manage the dominant speaker in a meeting 19:48 The “meeting-free day” debate 23:30 The value of a pre-read 25:55 Game: So Crazy It Just Might Work This episode was sponsored by Allergy Insider. Ask your primary care provider about getting tested with your local respiratory allergy profile today. Learn more at: allergyinsider.com/questionnaire Want to get all of Kaila & Kyle’s career resources? Subscribe to Per My Last Email: https://www.permylastemailshow.com/ Watch Per My Last Email on YouTube: @PerMYLastEmailShow Follow Per My Last Email Instagram: @permylastemailshow TikTok: @permylastemailshow…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kaila, Kyle

Guest: Rebecca Hinds

Topics covered

  • meetings
  • productivity
  • workplace strategies
  • remote work
  • meeting design

Keywords

  • meetings
  • productivity
  • remote employees
  • meeting agendas
  • attendance inflation
  • meeting-free day
  • pre-read

Sponsors

Allergy Insider

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Morning Brew

Books & works: Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done

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