• Chris Williams, former vice president of human resources at Microsoft, created an easy way to schedule meetings.
• Participants are ranked from level five to one based on their importance.
• Williams said tier one participants offer nothing and take even less.

In over 40 years of experience as an executive, I have been in far too many meetings. Even as the vice president of human resources at Microsoftthere were crowded meetings that I should have avoided. Meetings seem inevitable until you realize that most people shouldn’t have been invited.

I learned a simple way to tell if you need to be in the room. This strategy is useful later to see if the meeting was worth it and it can improve future meetings. This is called “Classifying the Room”.

There are five levels of involvement in a meeting: from the most important, level five, to the least important, level one. Ideally, a good meeting would be filled with level fours and fives, with a few threes for perspective. The others shouldn’t be there.

Here’s an overview of the levels.

At the top, level five, is the meeting organizer.

They called the meeting to solve a problem, explore an issue, and get results. They lead the discussion and drive towards the outcome. They are at the top because without them there would be no meeting.

After the meetinglevel five should evaluate it. Was it a good discussion? Did they lead and ensure that everyone participated well? Did it last exactly as long as it needed to? Was there a clear and distinct result? Does everyone know their role in the next steps?

Level four people are directly affected

These are the people who are directly affected by the outcome of the meeting. They are expected to actively participate and have a stake in what happens next. The results of this meeting will change what they do. They must be there, there is no doubt about it.

Subsequently, if you were at level four, you should have been at the heart of the discussion. Did you speak? Have you been an effective advocate for your interests? Did you listen well to others and work to progress? Or have you sowed conflict? Worse yet, did you just let the meeting happen around you?

Level Three People Add Value

They have a vision or experience of the problem. Level three people offer a perspective that might go unnoticed. They rarely speak, only when they can include something that changes the conversation. Even if they are not directly affected by the result, they definitely add value.

At level three, you must be extremely honest with yourself after the meeting. Did you contribute significantly to the meeting? Did you talk too muchor not at all? Were your comments really heard? If you were the meeting organizer, would you add yourself to the follow-up meeting?

Level two people observe and learn

These participants are there to observe and sometimes learn. Often little more than stenographers, they don’t need to be there. Seen but never heard, their absence would change nothing at the outcome of the meeting.

If you have entered level two, be very clear with yourself. What specifically did you learn of this meeting? How did your presence help the meeting? Or did it just help you? In the latter case, you were actually just one. And you shouldn’t have been there.

Finally, at the bottom are the people from level one

They’re there because they want to be or because someone feels compelled to include them for some vague reason. They offer nothing and take away even less. This is often the reason why the meeting is longer and longer than necessary.

If you entered – or exited – as such, your presence was a mistake. You probably I should have ignored it.

Know when you shouldn’t be in a meeting

Participation in level three should be optional and even special. Think carefully about whether you actually have a perspective or idea that could change the outcome. Be honest and bow out if you don’t.

Don’t develop a reputation as a parasite, someone who is always there.

If you spend most of your time at level three in meetings, let’s face it, you’re only a level two which sometimes says something witty. Reserve your wisdom for times when it is useful and valuable.

If you plan to score two or less, simply decline. You will save time and your sanity. You won’t miss it. No one counts how many times they’ve seen you this week.

Plan a good meeting

Every meeting should have a clear agenda and include precisely the right people in the room. Neither more nor less.

As an organizer, your job is to decide on the topic of the meeting – exactly what you want to accomplish. Ranking attendees is a great way to decide who should attend.

Some of the fours will insist on bringing threes. You might think of a three that would be nice to have, but try to resist. Remember, this is your meeting. Not everyone three and under needs to be there.

Control meeting crowding by classifying the room in advance. Do this and you win the meeting game. Everyone will thank you.

Chris Williams is a former vice president of human resources at Microsoft. He is an executive level advisor and consultant with over 40 years of experience in leading and building teams.