124. Making Meetings Meaningful, Pt. 1: How to Structure and Organize More Effective Gatherings

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

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Delve into why people hate meetings, explore what hinders their effectiveness, and how to change that. Karin Reed (Emmy Award winner) and Joe Allen (“The Meeting Doctor”) join Matt Abrahams in the first of a two-part series that aims to reshape your approach to meetings and help you make them effective and meaningful, whether in person, virtual or hybrid.

They shed light on the constraints hindering effective meetings, and explore strategies for optimizing meetings, emphasizing the importance of right-sizing meetings and focusing on realistic agendas. Karin provides valuable tips for enhancing on-air presence, focusing on aspects like eye contact, lighting, and framing, while Joe tackles the challenges of managing disruptive behaviors in virtual meetings. Don't miss this insightful exploration into the world of how to make meetings better.

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Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

Host Matt Abrahams sets the stage for the two-episode series on meaningful meetings and introduces guests Karin Reed and Joe Allen.

(02:02) Why People Hate Meetings

Reasons behind the dislike for meetings, focusing on habits and societal norms and the issues that create ineffective meetings.

(04:49) Participation Equity

Strategies for validating all forms of participation, especially in virtual and hybrid meetings.

(06:53) Meeting Structures and Strategically Ordering Topics

How to strategically best order tasks for a meeting adapting to the team's readiness.

(09:21) Best Practices for Virtual and Hybrid Meetings

The importance of being & feeling seen and heard in virtual and hybrid meetings, strategies to work against proximity bias.

(11:57) Virtual Presence Tips

Tips to have the best virtual presence from Karin, including eye contact, framing, lighting, and audio

(16:35) How to Combat Counterproductive Meeting Behavior

Joe explains different types of behaviours that derail meetings and how procedural communication can be used as a strategy to address them, and the possible outcomes of implementing this.

(20:45) Final Thoughts on Effective Meetings

Karin & Joe each give their one big tip for effective meetings, Karin shares the importances of injecting humanity and friendship, and Joe shares his communication mentor.

(23:52) The ABCs of Communication

Karin Reed shares the first three ingredients for a successful communication recipe: Authenticity, Brevity, and Clarity.

(25:01) Conclusion