3 Myths That Stifle Most Meetings

Why do some meetings work…but many die a dismal death? Get the low-down right here on the 3 big myths that kill most meetings—and learn the truth that will set you free. If you’re fed up with meetings where you don’t get anything done, it’s a valuable question to answer. Imagine what could happen when meetings actually work, instead of being accepted as “a complete waste of time!” As it turns out, there are four commonly held myths that form the root cause of many tired and tedious meetings. Grab a pen. Take some notes. You’ll have a prescription for healthy, interactive and highly productive meetings. Myth 1: Logic Rulesr Logical thinking and precise reasoning are a crucial power in business meetings. In fact, a clear logical structure saves time, reduces uncertainty and helps everyone stay on track. But. There’s a ‘big but’ in the equation. Logic alone is not the ruling guide for a successful meeting. It must be balanced with creativity, emotion and passion. If you’ve had it with boring meetings, it could be that you and the meeting planners are relying to heavily on a purely logical progression. Truth: Passion Convincesr In meetings, emotion and passion are driving forces. If your audience is all a buzz with important news affecting your industry, start there. Don’t go step-by-step with the agenda you built last month. Go with the passion and the buzz of the moment. Once everyone is onboard with the hot topics, you’ll have a much easier time steering into the other logical items that deserve critical attention. Myth 2: Evidence Trumps Rapportr Whether you are planning a client meeting, prospect pitch or briefing your superiors, evidence is extremely important. After all, you want to gain credibility and provide tangible evidence. Evidence is a whole lot more important than waving your hands in the air and jumping up and down. But there’s a crack in this myth. All the evidence in the world won’t help you win over a group if you haven’t built rapport. That’s why it’s very useful to balance ‘evidence’ based presenting with building rapport and trust. Truth: Rapport Convincesr Funny thing, right? If you build rapport, relate human to human, and are authentic, people listen. Crazy busy decision makers and smart leaders are looking for more than just facts and figures. Of course, you need to back up theory and friendliness with solid evidence. But when you build rapport first, then people are much more open to listen to what you have to say. Hint: try this at work—and at home. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at what happens when you build rapport first, and then provide evidence. Myth 3: Precise Words Are Criticalr Precision is the home zone for most corporate business people. Precise words. Precise punctuation. Precise spelling. Precise layout. More than once HR directors have been known to hit the ceiling over the use of a wrong word or faulty comma. But are precise words going to really create highly productive meetings? You’d think that with all the attention to precision, this would be the single most important key to unlock creativity and effectiveness. But it’s just not true. Truth: Simplicity Convincesr The fact is that a few simple words—and pictures are more convincing than all the perfectly chosen words in a corporate report. Precision in words often leads to a lot of words. But few people these days have the attention or bandwidth to wade through 300 slides. Instead, people want to see a few slides with simple words and simple to understand pictures. We are in the era of ‘less is more.’ No question, precision helps. Just don’t fall victim to believing that more precise words will get more decisions, more deals or more productive movement. Simplicity is radically more convincing. If you are spending all day in meetings, take a few moments to adjust your choices. Look at your agenda. Consider your story. Plan your presentations so everyone understands—instantly. Are you ready to transform your business meetings with powerful presentations? With a small investment in planning for passion, rapport and simplicity, you’ll reap huge rewards in productivity.