Interview with Rick Brinkman author of “Dealing with Meetings You Can’t Stand: Meet Less and Do More”
Meetings are a necessary evil of the workplace. Whether face to face or remote, they’re often a mixed bag at best, woefully unproductive and frustrating.
That’s because we hold too many meetings we shouldn’t, says business and communication maven Rick Brinkman. If you’re going to hold a meeting, do it right, with a plan, an agenda, and the right approach. Brinkman likens effective meeting strategies to airplane flights — and as you’ll see from our interview, it makes perfect sense. I came away from this Q&A feeling like there is hope for the conference table, and I’m sure you will too.
You can learn more in Brinkman’s latest book,
Dealing with Meetings You Can’t Stand: Meet Less and Do More.
Why are so many meetings unproductive? There are too many meetings in general. Many are unnecessary, and often times held with no real preparation. The Cambridge Psychological Society found that 24 hours after a business meeting, the average person only remembers 9% — and half of it is inaccurate. So meetings are not a place to disseminate information: Information should be given ahead of time. It’s fine to have a meeting to interact around the information, but meetings are for interaction!
The first question to ask is, “Why are we meeting in the first place?” Then create an agenda and a process. If the agenda is unclear or isn’t relevant to everyone, it leads to multi-tasking and distraction. Without a speaking order, some people will talk too much, others not at all. Without a clear process to stay focused, the meeting will stray down unnecessary tangents. What’s the secret to preparing an effective meeting agenda?
There are five keys: 1. Every item must relate to everyone in the room. 2. Each item must have a clear 1–2 sentence statement of purpose: Why is this item so important that we are all not doing the other million things asking for our attention? 3. Each item must have a clear focus statement as to what is wanted from the group. 4. Be realistic about time. At each meeting, have someone keep track of how long items actually take. That will allow you to become more accurate about time. Do not round off times: if it will take 17 minutes, make it 17 minutes, not 15 or 20. 5. The agenda should be distributed ahead of time — depending on its complexity, 1 to 3 days before. Why do you advise approaching a meeting like an airline flight?
It’s the best way to turn a meeting from a potential obstacle to a catalyst. Imagine the people at the meeting as passengers on a plane, trapped together in a confined space for a period of time. Consider what could happen to mar the outcome.
The meeting may not start on time. It can go off course or even be hijacked. It could end late and cause participants to miss other meetings. It could be uncomfortable or seem like a waste of time. And meetings about contentious issues could prompt people may bring on way too much baggage. What kind of behavior tends to hijack a meeting, and what can be done about it? The most common are Know-It-Alls, Think-They-Know-It-Alls, Judges and Tanks. Know-It-Alls and Think-They-Know-It-Alls like to hear themselves talk. They will go on and on, taking the group down tangents. While Know-It-Alls actually do know what they are talking about, the Think-They-Know-It-Alls really don’t — they just need to be the center of attention. Judges knock the meeting off course by nitpicking irrelevant details. Tanks declare martial law and aggressively dominate meetings, talk over and bullying people. The antidote is Air Traffic Control, and that begins when you’re preparing the agenda. There must be a focal point for the group’s attention. Everyone must be talking about the same topic, using the same process. So each item on the agenda should get a Purpose statement and a Focus explanation of what you need from the group regarding this item.
At the meeting, use a whiteboard or powerpoint to track each topic and the process used to discuss it. If it’s a virtual meeting, everyone should share a screen. Put the topic and process in the title area of a blank PowerPoint slide. Then have a speaking order and a time limit. The speaking order can be voluntary — people raise their hands and list them on the whiteboard, or it can be circular — just going around the room. In general, circular is better and should be used in virtual meetings. What particular problems are inherent in virtual meetings and how can they be improved? Too often, people in virtual meetings don’t focus.
Set up rules: No multi-tasking, participants must connect via computer so everyone shares a screen, and to really create accountability, web cams should be turned on, which has the added benefit of connecting everyone visually. Generally, people are more hesitant to speak up at virtual meetings, too, which is why you need a circular speaking order. At one meeting, order alphabetically by first name; at the next, by last name. Keep everyone on topic by displaying the topic and focus on a Powerpoint slide, as well as the purpose and focus statements from the agenda. You can’t depend on people printing those out or having it on their device, since they are looking at the shared screen.
What’s the best strategy for arriving at decisions? First, the group must have read all relevant information related to the topic in advance. At the meeting, do a clarification Q&A to make sure they understand it. Start the discussion and flight record what people say. Then switch to matching — go around the room and have everyone say what they like about the idea, and repeat the comments they agree with. The flight recorder puts a hash mark next each repeated match.
Now switch to mismatching — same process, but this time it’s about concerns people have. If there are far more matches or much higher priority matches than mismatches, those concerns can be solved along the way. Ultimately the group might vote, or the person in charge can decide. It depends on the organization’s structure or culture.
For more about Rick Brinkman and Dealing with Meetings You Can’t Stand: Meet Less and Do More Visit: drrickbrinkman.com
