To be effective in meetings, use the right words.
9 September 2014
Read by 2629 persons
Tired of long meetings?
Some words can speed things up, according to two MIT researchers.
"When I want to bury a matter, I create a committee," said Clemenceau. He could just as well have said: "I organize a meeting."
But rest assured: there is no fatality, according to a study (cited by The Wall Street Journal) by two statistics researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They analyzed in detail the minutes of a few dozen meetings to understand how the decision-making process worked.
Their objective? To better understand when key decisions were actually made. I'll spare you the details of their study, which you can find here, with all the algorithms and complicated formulas that accompany it. We will simply remember from their work that certain keywords spoken during meetings have a formidable power to advance projects...
Yeah, great!
The first of these words, as befits an American study, is "yeah." Said like that, it's not great, but if you practice finding the right tone by adding a little enthusiasm, the word does work as a kind of approval.
Other words that would testify to the good progress of a meeting: "give," "menu," "start," or "discuss." Nothing but logic. You are warned. If your meetings drag on, here's what you can say: "Yeah, great! Well, I think we've given all we could give. What's on the menu now? Above all, when do we start? I suggest we meet again soon to discuss it."
Try it, you'll tell us the news, knowing that the possible productivity gains are enormous. In the United States alone, it is estimated that around 11 million meetings are organized during a typical workday. Having the right words to go fast is therefore crucial. As everyone knows, the shortest meetings are also the best. Clemenceau would not have disapproved.
Lentreprise.lexpress.fr
Posted online on September 9, 2014.
Some words can speed things up, according to two MIT researchers.
"When I want to bury a matter, I create a committee," said Clemenceau. He could just as well have said: "I organize a meeting."
But rest assured: there is no fatality, according to a study (cited by The Wall Street Journal) by two statistics researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They analyzed in detail the minutes of a few dozen meetings to understand how the decision-making process worked.
Their objective? To better understand when key decisions were actually made. I'll spare you the details of their study, which you can find here, with all the algorithms and complicated formulas that accompany it. We will simply remember from their work that certain keywords spoken during meetings have a formidable power to advance projects...
Yeah, great!
The first of these words, as befits an American study, is "yeah." Said like that, it's not great, but if you practice finding the right tone by adding a little enthusiasm, the word does work as a kind of approval.
Other words that would testify to the good progress of a meeting: "give," "menu," "start," or "discuss." Nothing but logic. You are warned. If your meetings drag on, here's what you can say: "Yeah, great! Well, I think we've given all we could give. What's on the menu now? Above all, when do we start? I suggest we meet again soon to discuss it."
Try it, you'll tell us the news, knowing that the possible productivity gains are enormous. In the United States alone, it is estimated that around 11 million meetings are organized during a typical workday. Having the right words to go fast is therefore crucial. As everyone knows, the shortest meetings are also the best. Clemenceau would not have disapproved.
Lentreprise.lexpress.fr
Posted online on September 9, 2014.
