It is amazing what preparation does to your outcome. Yet many people go about attending important meetings without any preparation. Even a little preparation is better than no preparation.
I always allow at least an hour or two before any meeting to give me time to reflect on the ideal objective to be accomplished at the meeting, any background reading I need to go over, and to articulate any questions I need to raise at the meeting.
This little bit of work ends up making me much more useful at the meeting and produces a better overall outcome. If you are leading the meeting you need to find a way to get all the attendees to do this minimum work to get the best possible results.
Give it a shot to prepare if you are the attendee, and to inspire action if you are the leader.