Other than political diehards and protesters, people don’t care much about the Republican and Democratic conventions these days. TV networks aren’t devoted to them the way they used to be, mainly because a lot of viewers would prefer watching the 24-hour Test Pattern Network.

Some of it is cynicism about politics, certainly, but a lot of it is just that they’re boring. There is little conflict and too many long-winded comments. And even the decisions that get made are pretty much foregone conclusions.

In other words, they’re pretty much like big office meetings. Who on Earth would want to watch that?

If your meetings run the gamut from dull to deadly dull, consider these questions:

— Are you just going through the motions? Many routine items can be handled easier and faster through e-mail. If there’s not a significant reason to meet, don’t. It’s OK to cancel a weekly meeting if there’s nothing to talk about.

— Do people hijack the agenda? You’ll have much better meetings if someone makes sure that people stick to the topics. Sometimes one person will start babbling about a subject that has little to do with the purpose of the meeting.

In instances when people agree the topic is worth discussing, consider whether it would be better to meet about it later, when people have time to prepare. Sometimes a spur of the moment discussion is fine, but other times it’s a waste because people don’t have the information necessary to make a decision.

— Do you allow constructive conflict? If decisions are jammed through without adequate discussion, you’re liable to run into more dissension outside the meeting. People need to know that their concerns have been heard, even if eventually their points of view don’t prevail.