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making meetings more effective

going round the table is a waste of time

So-called ‘face time’ is increasingly precious to all of us, which makes me wonder why we routinely waste so much time, at the beginning of meetings, by ‘going round the table’ to introduce ourselves to each other.

white horse round table by id-iom on flickr

An important part of this ritual seems to be a protocol whereby the scope of introductions is often limited to attendees simply stating their name and job titles.

Such information could be more usefully shared by means of an attendee list on the calling notice for the meeting and the provision of place cards in the room.

So why do we still do the perfunctory trip around the table, does it add real value to a meeting or is it simply an opportunity for self-serving, territorial marking? :mrgreen:

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  • http://www.adrianashton.co.uk adrian ashton

    if its faciliated well, this intial ‘find out who’s sitting next to you’ exercise can be very powerful and mean much better use of people’s respective experiences and insights;

    it also helps to ‘break the ice’ between people who may not know each other or be otherwise too nervous to openly speak;

    and if done with a bit of thought, can quickly establish a good atmosphere between participants making the time available much more productive.

    but sadly it does usually end up taking half an hour and see people trying to establish themselves in a hierarchy of self-perceived importance…