Q. You’re expected to attend many meetings at your company, and most of them are a big waste of time. The same people hog the floor with pointless, redundant comments, while others say nothing. The discussion inevitably goes off topic, and you start to feel trapped. It’s excruciating. Can anything be done?

A. Yes, if the meeting leaders make a commitment to set ground rules and take an active role in guiding the discussion. But before a meeting is even scheduled, it’s important to know whether it should be held at all.

In general, companies probably hold about twice as many meetings as are necessary, said John E. Tropman, a professor of nonprofit management at the University of Michigan who has done research on meetings. Less is better than more, because of “the ineptitude of this social form,” he said.

Too often, managers hold meetings in the vague, wishful hope that something will happen; they may even use them as a way to avoid work, he said. A result is a meeting that yields no decisions  which, in turn, leads to yet another useless meeting.