Monday tip: Start meetings with a positive round
Psychological experiments can be very devious, and this one was certainly no exception. The focus was meetings and the format was simple: Groups of people were asked to discuss and reach consensus on a contentious topic.
Here’s the devious bit: Unbeknownst to the other participants one member of the group was an actor hired by the researchers. The actor was told to speak first in the discussions. In half the experiments he would say something positive while in the other half he would start by saying something critical. After that he simply participated in the discussion like the other group members.
The experiment showed that when the first thing said in the meeting was positive, the discussion turned out more constructive, people listened more and were more likely to reach consensus. When the first statement was critical the mood became more hostile, people were more argumentative and consensus became less likely.
The researchers concluded that the way a meeting starts has a large impact on the tone of the discusion and on whether or not the group will eventually reach consensus.
Ah - meetings. The most energizing, creative and fun activity in the workplace. What’s that you say? They’re not? Well they can be. In fact they should be. Here’s a monday tip that can help your group take a step in that direction.
Many groups, projects or departments open their meetings with a round where each participant can say what he or she is working on, and quite often this ends up as a litany of complaints and problems. But as the experiment cited above shows, this is likely to affect the whole meeting.
So do this instead: Open meetings with a round where each person answers a question such as:
- Name one thing you’ve accomplished since the last meeting that you’ve been proud of?
- Name a person who has helped you since the last meeting.
- Mention one thing you’re looking forward to in the coming week/month?
- What’s the funniest thing someone has told you in the last week?
- Mention something interesting you’ve learned since the last meeting
Pick a new question for each meeting and make some up yourself - as long as they focus on something positive.
Don’t spend a lot of time on this, just give each participant 30-60 seconds to share something positive. As the experiment mentioned above shows, a meeting becomes much more productive when you start with something positive instead of with a round of collective and individual moans.
The Chief Happiness Officer’s monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went.
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emme Said,
July 24, 2006 @ 11:13 am
I’ll definitely try that out! I hate our staff meetings, as we always spend at least 30 minutes on complaints. Complaints are boring.
Alexander Kjerulf Said,
July 24, 2006 @ 12:12 pm
Emme, you’re my first, foremost and favorite monday-tip-tester. Try it and let me know how it goes!
Money Matador Said,
July 28, 2006 @ 4:06 am
Interesting idea. I just fear that the atmosphere gets too friendly and we just sit around bullshitting!
Alexander Kjerulf Said,
July 28, 2006 @ 8:45 am
Ain’t gonna happen, Moneymatador. The nicest, friendliest, most positive meetings are also by far the most efficient.
Whereas meetings where people are complaining and pessimistic often go nowhere.
Money Matador Said,
July 28, 2006 @ 11:52 am
I agree with the concept, but just remember times when the atmosphere got too friendly and it was hard to get proper work done. I agree about complaining and pessimistic people. They often themselves go nowhere, and meetings where they feature can be a problem.
Alexander Kjerulf Said,
July 28, 2006 @ 1:33 pm
Now you mention it MM, I think I can see it happening, and I’d like to hear your experiences with it. Could you tell me a little bit more about it - what happened when it got too friendly, how did it affect people’s work, what did you do about it etc..?
Positive Sharing » Monday Tip: Candy for meetings Said,
July 31, 2006 @ 12:25 pm
[...] Last week’s tip was about creating positive meetings and so is this week’s. Only this tip is really, really simple. Ready: Bring a bowl of candy to a meeting today. [...]
Positive Sharing » Get lucky at work - be positive Said,
August 3, 2006 @ 11:12 am
[...] Start meetings positively [...]
Group Communication: Start with something positive · The Retrospector Said,
August 7, 2006 @ 7:45 am
[...] I stumbled onto an article the other day from The Chief Happiness Officer blog about the effects of starting a meeting off with a positive round. This sure triggered some memories about countless tips on project management I’ve gathered in the past, but my first reaction was that this applies to more than just meetings. Granted, it’s most applicable in a meeting environment, but I think that conference calls, emails, even the occasional self-reflection is better off when you’re able to think of something positive first before heading into a full analysis. [...]
Five weeeeeeeeird tips for great meetings Said,
February 20, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
[...] Psychological experiments have shown that the way a meeting starts, sets the tone for the whole meeting. Start the meeting with complaints, problems and mutual blame, and that’s what you’ll get. [...]
James Said,
August 15, 2007 @ 11:55 pm
I started our last meeting with “name something you like about your job”, then followed with “name something that you do to manage your stress or otherwise maintain your health”. We made lists and then posted them in our office. The meeting’s frame was set to a positive one and it made the whole meeting a positive, productive one.
Alexander Said,
August 20, 2007 @ 3:22 pm
James: Woo-hooo :o) That’s fantastic - I’m delighted it worked for you. Thanks for telling me.