WEBVTT - Appoint a time keeper and a questioner

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to appoint a timekeeper and a questioner. Having

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<v Speaker 1>people with certain roles that help to move things along

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<v Speaker 1>can make meetings far more fruitful. I know we have

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<v Speaker 1>all gotten stuck in meetings that meander off topic and

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<v Speaker 1>as a corollary, take longer than they need to. Creating

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<v Speaker 1>an agenda is great, but as with any plan, if

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<v Speaker 1>people don't stick to the plan, then the plan is

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<v Speaker 1>not so helpful. So how do you help people stick

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<v Speaker 1>to the plan? I like the idea of appointing a

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<v Speaker 1>timekeeper and a questioner. The timekeeper role is straightforward. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the person who keeps you on pace with the agenda.

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<v Speaker 1>If a presentation or a discussion is going on longer

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<v Speaker 1>than it is supposed to, this person plays the bad

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<v Speaker 1>cop who says you have to move on. The topic

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<v Speaker 1>can be talked about at another time, either with the

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<v Speaker 1>whole group or, this is probably more likely, with fewer

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<v Speaker 1>people who need to hash this out on their own. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>if the discussion is fruitful, The group can decide to

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<v Speaker 1>stick with it even if the agenda says otherwise. No

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<v Speaker 1>one is condemned to follow the agenda if you are

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<v Speaker 1>about to solve your most important business challenge. Have at it.

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<v Speaker 1>But you don't want the meeting to drag on just

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<v Speaker 1>because no one wanted to be the person pointing out

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<v Speaker 1>that time was passing. By appointing someone specific to this role,

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<v Speaker 1>you get over the natural human tendency not to rock

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<v Speaker 1>the boat. The questioner role may be a little less common,

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<v Speaker 1>but I have sometimes seen this used well too. The

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<v Speaker 1>idea is that if someone is presenting something or asking

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<v Speaker 1>for ideas or feedback, you want someone to keep the

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<v Speaker 1>discussion targeted, sort of like a moderator. Sometimes people will

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<v Speaker 1>start telling stories or explain a lot of context or

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<v Speaker 1>start complaining about something else. A questioner or moderator is

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<v Speaker 1>the one who focuses the material. I saw this happen

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<v Speaker 1>recently in a professional networking group where someone was asking

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<v Speaker 1>for advice. This person started talking about unhappiness with world events.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure no one in the room was happy about

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<v Speaker 1>these world events, but this time was specifically reserved to

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<v Speaker 1>help figure something out. The questioner kept the presenter from

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<v Speaker 1>losing this time. What the timekeeper and the questioner roles

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<v Speaker 1>do is is recognize that time is valuable. When just

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<v Speaker 1>you are doing something and you meander or you're off topic,

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<v Speaker 1>you are only wasting your own time. When you have

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<v Speaker 1>gathered six people in a room, the opportunity cost is

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<v Speaker 1>six times as high. When we meet, we should do

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<v Speaker 1>so to accomplish things that we can't on our own.

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<v Speaker 1>So that requires making sure the dynamics support timely, efficient decisions.

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<v Speaker 1>It is human nature mostly to go along to get along. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>there are some people who naturally love the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>cutting other people off and telling everyone they are out

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<v Speaker 1>of time or telling people that they shouldn't be talking

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<v Speaker 1>about X, Y, or Z. But most people are not

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<v Speaker 1>like that. Group dynamics are strong. So by creating roles

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<v Speaker 1>specifically for people to be a bit more caustic, you

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<v Speaker 1>remove the feeling that they are being bad for doing this.

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<v Speaker 1>You get the benefit of having something of a party

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<v Speaker 1>pooper without undermining the sense that you are all part

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<v Speaker 1>of a team. So that can make a gathering far

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<v Speaker 1>more effective. If you try appointing a timekeeper and a questioner,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to know how it goes. You can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at laura at lauravandercam.com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening. And here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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