Are you suffering from too many bad and unnecessary meetings at work?
Introduction
TED Talks are great! “How to save the world (or at least yourself) from bad meetings” (http://www.ted.com/talks/david_grady_how_to_save_the_world_or_at_least_yourself_from_bad_meetings) is a really well done TED Talks! It is very entertaining and you will learn about MAS and No MAS! David Grady does an excellent job of presenting on a very critical topic of too many meetings during the workday. The TED Talks will cause you to think about the next new meeting invitation and look for the agenda the next time you get a meeting invitation from someone. David drives home that it is ok to tentatively accept first and then politely contact the chair and ask more about the scheduled meeting.
What was the topic and argument of the presentation?
The topic was on too many bad and unnecessary meetings in the workplace globally. Bad meetings are a waste of time. Also, there is an epidemic of bad, inefficient, overcrowded meetings and it is plaguing the world of businesses and making workers miserable. Note” that the workers feels that the time spent in the lousy meetings could be spent on getting real work done. The presenter, David Grady, has some ideas on how to stop the practice or at least don’t automatically accept the meeting invitation --- but tentatively accept it and then politely call the chairperson for that meeting and find out if you need to be at that meeting. Perhaps an email in place of the meeting could accomplish the same thing. Or an instant text message could be used instead of calling a meeting.
How were visual or other props used in the presentation?
The visual and other props were also part of the David’s TEDTalk..
Below is the first visual prop --- it was the office chair. David described the experience of our very own office chair taken from our office by a colleague to the conference room. The person taking your chair does not even ask for your permission--rather just steals your office chair! How are you supposed to sit at your desk and get work done?
A second visual prop used in the TED Talks was the Microsoft Outlook Calendar view of one’s meetings. Nearly everyone in the workplace can associate the visual prompt with their meeting scheduler.
A third familiar prop used was the choices that one has when viewing a new meeting notice in your Inbox. The Accept/Tentative/Decline box is what David says we should study first and really think about the meeting before automatically accepting it. Rather if you are not sure about whether you should attend the meeting, then select “Tentative”. Then call the chairperson and find out more about the meeting. Ask for an agenda. Then accept the meeting invitation if it makes sense.
The presenter, David Grady, simulated a typical workday conference call (aka meeting) anywhere across the globe. As stated above he did use visual props such as the office chair and portrayed the various meeting attendees. David ingeniously played the role of the meeting chairperson and then read what the goal of the meeting was. Then David proceeded with the stating the goal only to be interrupted with the guy who was working at home, the attendee from the UK who was at the wrong meeting, the beep without anyone there, and the guy dialing in from home who had a barking dog in the background, and the guy who could not figure out how to mute his call and accidentally dropped himself from the call., and then had to call back in --- only to disturb the chair again when he was reading the goals of the meeting and that everyone had to agree on whether to have two or three per day.
There were a couple visual props and real-life examples used in the TEDtalk. One example, was the workday morning when someone comes into your office and takes your office chair from your office to the conference room. They don’t even ask you if they can borrow your chair. The second example is the bad meeting that David did an excellent job portraying the chair and all the typical employees today in the global workplace. Lastly, David intelligently used an newly made up acronym by the name of “MAS” which stands for “Mindless Accept (Workplace Meeting Invitation) Syndrome. David had the MAS definition on a slide and it seemed as if he had defined a new medical term.
The definition of MAS was “an involuntary reflex in which a person accepts a meeting invitation without even thinking why, the common illness among office workers worldwide is turning into a global epidemic.” He used this term MAS very effectively to come to his punch line that we shouldn't just put up with an endless day of unproductive and ineffective corporate meetings and the we should say “No MAS!” (i. e., Mas is a Spanish word that mean “more”) or that we had enough unnecessary office meetings and that we should make it stop and gain our workday back for ourselves so that we can have time to do the work we really need to get done.
Was it effective?
David’s re-enactment of a corporate meeting was real for me. (I was amazed how well David acted throughout the meeting---it was fantastic.)The video mirrors exactly what goes on during a weekly if not daily in the workplace around the world on any given workday. I laughed every time the chair was interrupted and had to ask “Did someone join the call/” Note: David did not include the heavy breathing person, or joining the call while he is driving and not able to see the slides presented, or the guy who puts thinks that his phone on mute but you can hear a loud conversation taking place, or even better the caller who is in the bathroom and one hears the toilet flush.
Were questions asked?
No questions were asked after the simulated work meeting---it was a one man stand up comedian-like show that was a different TEDtalk show compared to others I have viewed. However, I did view the “How to Save the world (or at least yourself) from bad meetings.” on YouTube and it was hilarious. People did comment on how well they liked the typical workplace conference call and how entertaining it was.
Humor used?
Yes, humor was used throughout the presentation. The re-enactment of the workday conference call was almost identical to what goes on during a weekly conference call at my work. The group laughed at the presenter’s acting of the many different caller who dial in for the company meeting. The simulated company conference call was hilarious is very close to real life. The script was very funny and it really did enact a typical meeting in the workplace with all kinds of people joining in on the call. The audience laughed as they listed to David Grady re-enact a real life call with near true-life impersonations and “bleep bleep” sounds to denote when someone dialed into the call once again interrupting the chair’s reading of the goals of the meeting. It was really entertaining and funny to watch the presenter.
How was the pacing?
The pacing of the TEDtalk was very good and it kept everyone entertained.. As the audience and myself listened to the presenter play the role of the different people dialing in to join the meeting, it was very close to what we have all experienced at work---bad meetings and unnecessary meetings at work. The TEDtalk proceeded at a good pace and finally at the end the Chair of the meeting got to the “goal of the meeting”.
Was there a ‘path’ through the presentation?
Yes, the presenter finally after all the interruptions and people joining in on the conference call, he got to what he wanted everyone to agree on. It was cleverly done and the last line of the presenter (who was the chair of the meeting) was if they wanted to have the conference call two or three times a week.
Were you engaged or inspired?
I was very engaged and interested in the TEDtalk. Also, I was inspired about what the presenter really pointed out that the workers in the workplace just accept going to too many unplanned, unnecessary and inefficient meetings. He pointed out that people should not just accepts a meeting invitation without an agenda. Also, if you really don’t know the person or understand what the meeting is for then tentatively accept the meeting. Then later call the chair and ask for the agenda and questions about the meeting. Do state that you really want to help that person reach their goals but you need to know more information. Decide after reviewing the agenda and speaking to the chair if you truly do need to accept the meeting. Or perhaps you can save that hour or two for getting real work accomplished at your desk. Lastly, David states in the TEDTalk “people might be more thoughtful about sending (meeting) invitations out. Grady notes people might change their behavior if you change yours.”
About four years ago there was a campaign at my workplace by a new group president to point out that one should plan effective meetings and not have a meeting just to have a meeting. There were folded cards on every conference table in every conference room in our building about how it important it was to carefully consider people’s time and not to schedule a meeting unnecessarily. There were even “Planning Effective Meeting Tips.” posted on bulletin boards --- a quick review of what should be included with the meeting invitation and what sorts of pre-meeting planning should take place prior to the meeting. Lastly, I met an old colleague that I worked with 20 years ago and he mentioned that he liked being a consultant rather than an employee in the workplace because he does not have to go to the pointless meetings. He really believed that most meetings in the workplace were a waste of time and that he can get a lot of work done during the day without having to go to them.
