silence denotes agreement

Set one key ground rule: “Silence denotes agreement” or “qui tacet consentire videtur,” as it’s been known for centuries.

These three words do a great job of forcing people to open up, no matter how reluctant (or passive-aggressive) they may be feeling. Explain to people that if they don’t say anything when given a proposal or plan, they’re voting “yes” to it. Silence doesn’t mean “I’m not voting” or “I reserve the right to weigh in later.” It means “I’m completely on board with what’s being discussed.”

Bob Frisch and Cary Greene

“Before a Meeting, Tell Your Team That Silence Denotes Agreement,” Harvard Business Review. February 3, 2016 as quoted in HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter. Harvard Business Review Press. 2016.

how many people?

How many people should you actually invite [to a meeting]? There are no hard and fast rules, but in principle, a small meeting is best to actually decide or accomplish something; a medium-sized meeting is ideal for brainstorming; and for communicating and rallying, you can go large. Some people use what’s known as the 8-18-1800 rule as a rough guideline:

• If you have to solve a problem or make a decision, invite no more than 8 people. If you have more participants, you may receive so much conflicting input that it’s difficult to deal with the problem or make the decision at hand.
• If you want to brainstorm, then you can go as high as 18 people.
• If the purpose of the meeting is for you to provide updates, invite however many people need to receive the updates. However, if everyone attending the meeting will be providing updates, limit the number of participants to no more than 18.
• If the purpose of the meeting is for you to rally the troops, go for 1,800 — or more!

HBR Editors

“How to Know If There Are Too Many People in Your Meeting,” Harvard Business Review. March 18, 2015 as quoted in HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter. Harvard Business Review Press. 2016.

only the right people

For a meeting to be useful, you have to have the right people — and only the right people — in the room. With too many attendees, you may have trouble focusing everyone’s time and attention and accomplishing anything; with too few, you might not have the right decision makers or information providers in the room.

As you plan your attendee list, consider who will help you to accomplish your meeting’s goal and those who will be most affected by its outcome. Most likely this is a combination of people who will offer a variety of perspectives. Take the time to methodically list the individuals in each of these categories to make sure you include the right people:

• The key decision makers for the issues involved
• The ones with information and knowledge about the topics under discussion
• People who have a commitment to or a stake in the issues
• Those who need to know about the information you have to report in order to do their jobs
• Anyone who will be required to implement any decisions made

HBR Editors

“How to Know If There Are Too Many People in Your Meeting,” Harvard Business Review. March 18, 2015 as quoted in HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter. Harvard Business Review Press. 2016.

after that meeting

The sign of a great meeting isn’t the meeting itself. It’s what happens after that meeting. Save at least the last five minutes to summarize what you learned, articulate what was valuable, commit to what you are going to do as a result of the meeting, and clarify how you will assess the success of your next steps.

Peter Bregman

“The Magic of 30-Minute Meetings,” Harvard Business Review. February 22, 2016 as quoted in HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter. Harvard Business Review Press. 2016.

50-minute blocks

There’s [a] group of people who are scheduled in back-to-back sessions all day long, every day of the week. I speak, of course, of students. All the way through school we’re taught in 50-minute blocks, a schedule that lets us get to our next class on time. The buildings even have bells to remind the person running the meeting, er, class, to end on time.

Why is it, then, that when we graduate, they take away our bells, replace them with an irritating “doink” sound signaling “15 minutes until your next meeting” and assume we can now teleport to the location of same? What could cause such madness? In two words: Microsoft Outlook…

By default, Outlook sets up meetings that are 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes long. There’s no room for “travel time,” a few minutes to compose yourself and answer a couple of emails, or even a moment in the “little business persons’ room…”

Next time you’re faced with scheduling a meeting, consider booking a 20-minute or 50-minute session. See what you can accomplish in that time, and if you can still get to your next meeting. You may just start a new trend in your organization.

David Silverman

“The 50-Minute Meeting,” Harvard Business Review. August 6, 2009 as quoted in HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter. Harvard Business Review Press. 2016.