Meetings

Introduction

• Most people are really bad at meetings
  • Because they've never been taught how
• A core skill for anyone who wants change
  • And can help you steer other people's meetings…
• You don't have to invent this yourself
  • https://www.askamanager.org/

Do We Need a Meeting?

• To review and give feedback? No—do it asynchronously
• To inform? Only if you are expecting deep questions
• To consult? Only if people get a veto
  • Otherwise it's just informing with pretense
• To make decisions when asynchronous review can't
  • But only in small groups
  • Or with well-defined procedural rules

A Theory

Meetings have proliferated because they're easier to do (you don't even have to get out of your chair) and because they have become a substitute for casual social interaction.

Create an Agenda

• If you don't care enough to make a list, you don't need a meeting
• Include timings
• Prioritize
• Plan to end early

The fundamental unit of time is the bladder.

Have Clear Rules for Making Decisions

• (And for knowing what decisions have been made)
• "The Tyranny of Structurelessness" (Jo Freeman)
  • Every group has a power structure
  • The only question is whether it's explicit and accountable
  • Or implicit and unaccountable
• If you need Robert's Rules of Order, you need training

Martha's Rules

1. Proposal with sponsor
   • A day before the meeting (no sandbagging)
2. Sense vote (+1, 0, -1)
   • If no one objects, proposal passes
3. Discussion as needed
4. Binding vote (+1 or -1 only)

Have a Moderator

• Moderators should not do all the talking
  • Any more than conductors play all the notes
• Call on specific people in order
• Allow them one point at a time
• Keep a backlog

Require Politeness

• All the other rules are special cases of this…
• No technology during in-person meeting
  • Except for assistive technology or family need
  • "Please put your devices in politeness mode"
• No interruptions
  • Except by moderator
• No rambling

What to Talk About

• Progress, plans, and problems go up
• Context and priorities come down

Record Minutes

• So people who weren't there know what happened
• So people who were there agree what happened
• So people can be held accountable at later meetings

Manage "That Guy"

• This is the moderator's other job
  • https://coast.noaa.gov/ddb/
• Three stickies
• Interruption bingo

Be an Active Participant

• Decline invitations
• Read the agenda and material before the meeting
• Take your own notes
• Use participants' names
• Use definite nouns
• Pause before speaking
• Put down your hand

Life Online

• Do not record the meeting without willing consent
• No mixed-mode meetings: all in person or all online
• Review meeting protocol at the start
• Take minutes in a shared document
• Raise hands digitally

I'll Slack you a link to the Google sheet that will tell you which GitHub repo's wiki we're using to track mailing lists.

Seek Truth, Not Victory

• Don't raise points you don't actually believe in
  • The devil doesn't need more advocates
• No social dominance displays
  • "Well actually…"
• Don't make excuses for your questions or opinions
  • "This is probably stupid, but…"

Conclusion

FIXME