The Explainer: The Case for More Muted Meetings

The Explainer: The Case for More Silent Meetings 2 Dec 2019 --- Talking meetings have much merit, but can also be subject to a host of problems. There are approximately 55 million meetings a day in the United States. Although they often have many different purposes and goals, these meetings are typically conducted in the same way, time and time again. Namely, individuals gather together, virtually or face-to-face, to talk about a topic. We often don’t realize it, but talk is actually a choice; simply one of many different meeting styles or communication methods a leader can select. While talking meetings have much merit — when planned well they can be efficient and offer a level of comfort in speaking in person — they can also be subject to a host of problems: one person dominating, others checking out and multitasking, side conversations, straying off course, and pressures to conform to the boss’s ideas. The good news is that alternative approaches do exist and, depending on your task at hand, can work incredibly well. One such approach embraces silence. This technique may seem odd, but current research supports the benefits of holding a “silent meeting” as one way of better leveraging the ideas, perspectives, and insights of organizational talent. Leaders should add it to their toolbox in order to select the right meeting style for the job at hand. At the very least, trying new approaches will serve to keep meetings fresh, engaging, and interesting. --------------------------------------------------------------------- At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our leaders made better decisions, if people worked more productively, we believe that all of us — employees, bosses, customers, our families, and the people our businesses affect — would be better off. So we try to arm our readers with ideas that help them become smarter, more creative, and more courageous in their work. We enlist the foremost experts in a wide range of topics, including career planning, strategy, leadership, work-life balance, negotiations, innovation, and managing teams. Harvard Business Review empowers professionals around the world to lead themselves and their organizations more effectively and to make a positive impact. Sign up for Newsletters: https://hbr.org/email-newsletters Follow us: https://hbr.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/harvard-business-review https://www.facebook.com/HBR/ https://twitter.com/HarvardBiz https://www.instagram.com/harvard_business_review ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices