In nearly every workshop I teach, I ask a question that sounds something like this:
“How many of you attend too many meetings that run long?” Nearly every hand goes up, every time.
“How many of you get too many emails that are too overwhelming to read?” Nearly every hand goes up, every time.
“How many of you wish your colleagues would get to the point more quickly?” Same result… every hand.
“How many of you think your colleagues think the same way about you?” Not nearly as many hands go up.
We all want others to get to the point and be brief when they are speaking to us, and wasting our time. But few of us have the self awareness to realize when we are doing the same thing to others. Few of us have the skills to demonstrate the courtesy to others that we want them to show to us. A classic conundrum…
So how do we avoid committing the same sin as everyone else? By doing everything we can to get to the point quickly. How do we do that? Lead with the most important stuff, leave the deep or extraneous detail for later, plan for 20 minutes if you have 30, watch the clock, and aim to finish five minutes early, every time.
It’s not hard. It just takes some standard process, a little bit of preparation, and practice.
Make it a goal. If you develop the reputation of having valuable meetings or presentations that finish early, they are going to build a statue in your honor in the parking lot.
Have a great day.
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