Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is for when you are making a decision with
Speaker 1: family or friends, don't assume that consensus is best. Instead
Speaker 1: of settling for the lowest common denominator, consider taking turns
Speaker 1: choosing so that everybody gets their top choice. From time
Speaker 1: to time, so many of us sometimes find ourselves needing
Speaker 1: to make a collective decision about what everyone is going
Speaker 1: to do. What's a movie that everyone can enjoy for
Speaker 1: family movie night? Maybe you are trying to please your
Speaker 1: active toddler, your elementary schooler who's into Pixar, your middle
Speaker 1: schooler who's aheard Harry Potter fan, your mother in law
Speaker 1: who likes classic musicals, and your partner who just wants
Speaker 1: everyone to stay put for the entire time. What books
Speaker 1: should you read for book club next month? When members
Speaker 1: have different tastes and different schedules. Where should you go
Speaker 1: for your monthly girls' night out this month when people
Speaker 1: are coming from different directions and have a variety of
Speaker 1: tastes and budgets. We've all been in situations like these
Speaker 1: where you may be able to reach a consensus through
Speaker 1: collective decision making, but that process doesn't necessarily lead to
Speaker 1: an option that everyone is thrilled with, even if it
Speaker 1: is satisfactory to everyone. A lot of people have a
Speaker 1: working assumption that consensus is the way to go, but
Speaker 1: that may not always be the best way to maximize happiness.
Speaker 1: Over time, you may find yourself at the same inoffensive
Speaker 1: restaurant for every girl's Night and watching Mary Poppins over
Speaker 1: and over again. So instead of aiming for consensus every time,
Speaker 1: consider taking turns and letting everyone choose exactly what they want.
Speaker 1: When it is their turn. You choose the movie this week,
Speaker 1: your little guy the week after that, then the elementary schooler,
Speaker 1: the middle schooler, your mother in law, then your husband.
Speaker 1: Then it is your turn again. Everybody will broaden their
Speaker 1: viewing experience, and you may discover movies that you never
Speaker 1: would have tried otherwise. For your book club, all the
Speaker 1: members could take turns choosing the book at a small
Speaker 1: plates restaurant. If each person orders the two or three
Speaker 1: dishes they are most excited about, and then you share
Speaker 1: them all, it tends to work out. Of course, you
Speaker 1: can set parameters for these choices. Maybe all book club
Speaker 1: picks need to be under four hundred pages. Family movie
Speaker 1: night might be limited to G or PG options. Restaurants
Speaker 1: for girls' night out might need to fit within a
Speaker 1: certain budget per person. But within these parameters, when it
Speaker 1: is your turn to choose, you get to choose freely.
Speaker 1: The upside of this method is that people tend to
Speaker 1: choose things that they think are actually good when they
Speaker 1: get a free choice. Do I think this movie is
Speaker 1: or will be amazing is an entirely different question than
Speaker 1: do I think five people with different interests won't all
Speaker 1: hate this movie? Amazing raises the possibility of the choice
Speaker 1: being something really cool, even if it isn't what you
Speaker 1: would have picked. Sometimes consensus yields a decision that everyone
Speaker 1: can deal with but no one loves. When multiple options
Speaker 1: can be pursued over time, taking turns can lead to
Speaker 1: more satisfaction. You know you will be thrilled with the
Speaker 1: option every time your turn rolls around, and something unexpected
Speaker 1: might delight you when it is someone else's turn. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number
Speaker 1: four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia that before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.