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

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Podcast: [Per My Last Email](https://stenobird.com/podcast/per-my-last-email-6868760)
Published: 2026-04-20T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/bHsDpvy53mYwJpnc1UL5/traffic.megaphone.fm/MOBI7295152979.mp3?updated=1776457391
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/bHsDpvy53mYwJpnc1UL5/traffic.megaphone.fm/MOBI7295152979.mp3?updated=1776457391
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Duration seconds: 2356

## Resource

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 Twitter: @permylast_email Have a question for us? Send us an email or voice note to permylastemail@morningbrew.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Each week on Per My Last Email, Morning Brew’s resident career experts Kaila and Kyle – whose careers have collectively spanned the corporate, government, nonprofit and startup sectors – debate the trickiest challenges in work life, and share tactics on how to overcome them. Share the show with a friend, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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