Tufte and the Art of Conducting Meetings

Meetings are often worse than what Dilbert makes them out to be. According to Edward Tufte, most meetings are a waste of time because people hardly discuss anything. People just watch presentations AND work. That's not because people are lazy or stupid. It's simply because presentations are discussion killers. You cannot have a discussion when someone is presenting something, can you? Some presentations are so long and boring that the Q&A at the end of the presentation is hardly a discussion.
He suggested reviving an old, but useful method for running meetings. It is effective and is widely used in boardrooms. What I also love about this method is that it is perfect for people who dislike/fear delivering presentations.

Figure: Formula for effective meetings. A page from my notebook.

The gist of the message is this:

1. Instead of presenting a slide deck, describe your thoughts/proposals in a short document.
2. At the start of the meeting, distribute your document and give people time to read it. 
3. Then, spend the rest of the meeting discussing the contents of the document.

Here are some great points that he makes about this method.

• People can read a document three time faster than you can talk.
• You prepare the document, so you have full control, but they use their own cognitive style. This leads to richer conversations.
• Try delivering your content online - a web page or an electronic document. Will make it easier for remote attendees.
• When you get people to peruse your document during a meeting, they WILL pay full attention to the contents of the document. People almost never do the prework.
• Allocate 20 minutes to reading. (This is his recommendation. It really depends on the quality and quantity of content.)
• Presentations are easy for the presenter but hard for the audience, especially during meetings.
• You are not the center of attraction, the content is.
• Repetition if the best way to reinforce learning.
• Talk about the material - don't simply present it.
• The good thing about writing and not presenting is that you are not under pressure. You can write with a calm mind and do a great job of getting your thoughts across.