Meetings are a waste of time, right?

You’ve heard it before, you’ve probably said it yourself: Why are we even having this meeting?

When your work is deeply technical and requires focus, meetings can feel like an infuriating interruption. According to a recent survey, 92% of workers admit to multitasking during virtual meetings (Doodle, 2019). That’s almost all of us! But what if with the right mindset, you could make meetings so efficient that they become something that's rarely needed?

Let's be honest. We don’t hate meetings because we hate collaborating. We hate them because they’re often inefficient, repetitive, or lacking in clear directives or outcomes. But there's a fix for that, and it starts with a fundamental skill: CQ Active Listening™.

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Low CQ™ in practice

Picture this: a virtual Teams call. The person leading? Off camera, in a train station and shouting instructions, most of which are barely audible. Not one participant speaks up; not a single, “we can’t hear you," is uttered. Everyone’s just banking on the recording – but spoiler: AI isn’t a magician. If the human can’t hear, neither can the tech. This drags on for a good 45 minutes until the organizer gets cut off going through a tunnel, ending with a classic, “let's meet again tomorrow to discuss this further." Peak Low CQ is a peak waste of time.

High CQ™ in practice

Now, compare: Everyone’s cameras are on and the agenda that was distributed ahead of time is visible. The boss estimates that the call won’t take more than 18 minutes. All appear engaged and focused. Two people raise virtual hands to ask for clarification on relevant actions. Four others drop their focus points in the chat. Three provide a thumbs-up, confirming they know their next steps. Everyone says thanks. Meeting wrapped in 7.5 minutes. This is how you nail efficiency with High CQ.

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When we listen with focus, we retain up to 70% more information.

_{Brown, 2022}

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The secret to fewer meetings? Listen like a pro and learn to ask smart questions

High CQ stems from - you guessed it - Active Listening. It might sound like a fluffy term, but for high-performing teams, and even the best listeners need a tune up sometimes. Active Listening is about absorbing, processing, and responding in ways that move the conversation forward quickly and decisively. Sure, it's a skill that takes time to master. But when everyone does it, we can cut through the noise, solve problems faster, and (best of all) help our teams avoid follow-up meetings.

Here’s why it works: When we listen with focus, we retain up to 70% more information (Brown, 2022).Imagine if, by the end of one meeting, you’ve got everything you need to execute without scheduling another one. That's real progress.

Where "efficiency" and "listening" go hand in hand, so do "efficiency" and "tech." So how exactly do we blend the speed and precision of AI, for example, with the empathy and understanding of CQ for the ultimate results?

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Master the tools to shorten (or skip) the meeting

Leverage both your Communication Quotient (CQ) and the intelligent capabilities of AI to transform 30-minute check-ins into concise, strategic interactions so your team can operate at the speed of thought.
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• You’re likely already using built-in AI features to handle the grunt work. Analyzing discussions, auto-summarizing key points, and suggesting follow-ups. Now try cross-referencing your calls with project documentation, financial reports, or CRM data. Let’s say you’re preparing a product timeline. Intelligent insights can surface historical patterns to help you anticipate potential delays or bottlenecks. You’re then engaging in a continuous loop of action-driven conversation fueled by real-time data analysis, leaving no need for another round of “just to clarify.”

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• You’re probably using Whiteboard for visual brainstorming. Apt, since we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text (Gonzales, 2021). When paired with Microsoft’s embedded tools, you unlock a new level of strategic planning. Let’s say you’re working through a complex process flow for a product launch. Use auto-generated templates, reference diagrams, or suggested workflows based on prior project outcomes. Eliminate long-winded verbal explanations and bring data-backed visuals into your decision-making toolkit.

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Here’s a tip: Remember old-fashioned, human listening? Let the AI handle the data while you focus on that listening component. That way, you retain the important stuff: context, nuances, and emotional undercurrents.