Too many meetings are about agenda setting and status. Billions of pounds are wasted annually by employees getting together in a room and talking in circles.

All of us need to realise what meetings are actually for. You only really need one when the thinking done by a group can't be accomplished by an individual.

Try telling that to someone calling a meeting, however, and they’re likely get the hump - for all the aforementioned reasons. So here's some tips to duck out of the next pointless meeting.

Try an email beforehand

The best tactic is to bail out of a meeting before it’s even started. It’s easy to ping the organiser an email questioning how you're able to make a useful contribution to the scheduled meeting.

Or you could even wonder ‘how the hour will be broken up’, if it appears to be a random amount of time on a general topic. The implicit message is ‘you’re wasting my time’.

Put customers first

The fact that you could be spending the time with customers or clients is always a legitimate excuse for not attending a meeting. It’s hard to argue with the fact that you're saving company time and money by not attending.

Find out who's who

The key question to assess is ‘how will my absence be interpreted?’ and to tailor your excuse accordingly. The meeting will always be important to someone so work out whether you can afford to annoy them by your absence.

Watch your etiquette

If you're planning to duck out of a meeting halfway through, it's a common courtesy to offer your apologies in advance. So send an email or make a call. If you're a junior member of staff, inform the chair first, then everyone else before the meeting starts. A more senior person can tell everyone together.

Join the dots

Always give a rationale for an early departure and don’t let people fill in the gaps - it’s a human tendency to interpret negatively. If you depart suddenly halfway through a meeting everyone will be left wondering what's going on.

Disappear virtually

Tone down your presence before you leave. Don’t interject for a period – and certainly don’t be left holding court – then look at your watch and disappear. That's unless you want to make a point of course!

Be a stunt man

If none of these work and you think your request for absence will be turned down, you’ll need more strong arm tactics.

Arrange for a trusted person to knock on the door and say your top client, pregnant wife, ailing mother is on the phone… and say it can’t wait. This can look quite impressive, just so long as you have a decent alibi prepared for afterwards.
 

My thanks to Tina Lamb, partner, The Impact Factory
Noreen Tehrani, chartered psychologist
Professor Mike Carroll, University of Bristol
Dr Rob Yeung, Talentspace