Making Meetings More “Profitable”

“S” and “Cs” can learn from this, but “Ds” and “Is” better copy this to their day planner!

The average business professional attends at least seven meetings per week that last on average 2 hours and 45 minutes and tie up four or to five co-workers. That’s almost 100 working hours each week! Brain research tells us a great deal about both how to run an effective meeting and how you, as a participant, can get the most out of each meeting. This month’s PEP will focus on how you can get the most out of each and every meeting.

The purpose of any meeting, from the perspective of the participant, is to either receive information or learn about future action requirements. The tips below offer suggestions so you can leave each meeting with a clear vision of your responsibilities. However, our goal at TTI is to always offer more than simple “how to” advice. Therefore, this month’s PEP includes the underpinning, brain-based rationale for each of these tips. This will arm you with not only the “what” and the “how”, but the ever important “why” of our actions.

1. Do pre-meeting preparation

• Preparation starts hours in advance with a good night’s sleep
• Brain fuel is needed for critical thinking, so have at least 2 oz of protein for breakfast.
• Review related notes and readings prior to the meeting to trigger necessary protein markers.

2. Come with the right attitude

• Get in a positive state of mind.
• Emotions are crucial for remembering.

3. Take purposeful notes

• Use notes to organize ideas, especially things you may need to revisit.
• You only remember things that gain your attention.
• Figure out what is worth remembering
• The first phase of remembering is like creating sticky-notes in your brain.

4. Use lots of drawings and diagrams

• Mental images are much more powerful than words for remembering.

5. Ask questions & engage in discussions

• Personal engagement brings you back on task mentally, but don’t dominate just to stay awake.

6. Think about what is being said

• Remembering requires that you make meaning of the information.
• Think about how comments relate to other information you already know.
• Make connections to build a larger neuro-network in your brain.
• Think about: What issues are not being addressed? What might be expected of me? How might I contribute?

7. After the meeting, reinforce learning or tasks required

• As you leave, for the next ten minutes, try to only think about the information presented.
• During the same day, rework your notes and drawings highlighting the most important information or ideas.
• During the day, visualize your notes in your mind’s eye.
• Before bed, review your notes and if possible, even vocalize your notes.

Brain Based Rationale for Meeting Tips

Pre-meeting preparation is crucial. For example, sleep well, think well. An adult generally needs seven to nine hours of sleep on a regular basis. (And none of this staying up late on weekends and thinking you can jump back to your routine on Monday.) Inconsistent sleep patterns can take two to three days to correct. Speaking of being prepared, you need two servings of protein in the morning to maximize the thinking process. One serving of protein comes from: 1 egg, 1 oz of cheese, 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 2 TBSP of peanut butter, ¾ cup pudding or 3 oz of tofu. Carbohydrates and sugars are sources of energy but create highs and lows, as they enter the system way too fast.

There is growing evidence that coming to a meeting with the right attitude is also crucial. Your mindset going into a meeting will dictate what you get out of the meeting. Our emotions serve as filters, so it is best to have an attitude that matches my blood type, B Positive.

Note taking and active engagement address the same concept of attentiveness. Note taking forces you to think about what is being presented: drawings forces processing of the information, and asking questions force you to listen. All of these are crucial to the next step of making a protein marker in your brain. But, remember that different behavioral styles will interpret this rationale based on their own filters and may use the tips as an excuse for over application. For example, High Is, please don’t dominate just to stay involved; and high Ds, as a participant in a meeting, you are NOT in charge, so work on your listening skills as a way to stay engaged.

Reinforcing learning is required to create a lasting memory. If you do not do something with new information within about 30 seconds after receiving it, the protein marker in your brain does not form. If you do process the information, think about it, make connections, take notes, or draw an image, the information will be locked in place for about 90 minutes. Again, if you do not refocus on the information within this window of time, it is gone. But if you reinforce the knowledge by again revisiting the concepts or information, you now have created a bio-chemical protein marking that will last from eight to 12 hours. A quick review before bed and you are ready to start the process of remembering!

Stay tuned to TTIresearch.com to learn more about our research, including advancements from our Applied Cognitive Laboratory.