Once you have a lot of people sitting in an office, you have to find something for them to do. That’s why we have meetings. Meetings give us a sense of purpose. Meetings imply action. Meetings stop us sloping off.

It used to be a secret that meetings were a waste of time. It’s not any more, because everyone knows it — even the bosses who call them now try to speed them up by taking away the chairs. What is still secret is that you can turn these meetings to your advantage.

Remember that the people around the table play certain roles. There’s the one who always states the obvious, the one who nods vigorously when the boss speaks, the one who nods off . . . the management analyst Dr Meredith Belbin went to the trouble of labelling the different characters — the “shaper”, the “implementer”, the “completer-finisher” and so on (Google the terms if you think it will help you to get ahead).

But you are not going to be labelled. You are ready to play any character, according to the make-up of the team and the point of the meeting. While others research the topics for discussion, you will research the people.

The best example that I saw came when two senior figures wrestled for the top job and fought to impress the boss who was due to make the choice. The first chuckled eagerly at every joke and talked at length. The second, having researched the boss, barely spoke. “That quiet guy impressed me,” the boss explained, after giving him the job. “He seemed thoughtful.”

And because you know that the rest of the people round the table will play to type, use that, too. Politicians stitch up important business by gathering a consensus before the main meeting. You can do the same, pushing the malleable into the shape you want them.

It doesn’t necessarily make meetings more exciting. But they go the way you want them to.

Times Recommends

• Inspirational leadership
• How to get a new job
• The reluctant CEO