Cranking up Meeting Honesty
Group members are constantly saying “yes” when their body language screams “no.” If you are leading the meeting, you can do some things that will help participants come clean with their real opinions. If you are not leading the meeting and notice this body language, jump in and help out.
- Ask each person for an opinion. It may be that people are holding back because that is the easiest thing to do. You can prevent this from happening by asking each person for an opinion. If the group is not too large, simply go around the table and ask each person if he/she supports the idea and why or why not.
- Force a contrary opinion. If you are using the previous suggestion and many of the first people you call on voice support for the idea, it makes it more difficult for the following speakers to share their opposition. They might be afraid of looking like naysayers. In this case, you could invite the group to think about reasons why they should reject the idea. At least you will now have both arguments on the table for discussion.
- Ask for an owner. Tossing out ideas is relatively easy. It is much more difficult to make something happen. When the group agrees to do something, my next question would be about who will take ownership for making it happen. If nobody steps up, there might be less support for the idea than previously thought. You can let it drop.
Honesty in group discussions is critical to success. It’s also difficult to achieve. Strive for it.
What have you tried in your meetings to make them more real?
Photo by choking sun
