Tufte on Meetings

My Take On Tufte On Meetings

Last Monday, I attended a course taught by Edward Tufte. I listened and watched intently so that I could return to class with sage wisdom from the master about meetings. So, here is what he said:

“Do people suddenly get stupider just because they are attending a meeting?”

I paraphrase, but it is pretty close to what he said. In fact, he said it all day long no matter what he was discussing – reports, handouts, presentations, meetings. In the case of meetings, he reminded us that the participants can read and think for themselves. We need to stop focusing on controlling meetings and start focusing on creating opportunities to discuss and analyze information.

Tufte loves handouts for meetings. In fact, he thinks that meetings would be one-third shorter if we always provided useful handouts. His general guide to conduct a meeting is to begin by giving each participant a handout, then provide time to read it. He recommends following those two steps by asking if there are any questions. If there are questions, start the discussion. If there are no questions, then the meeting is over.

This is a little glib – but it makes the point. Let participants analyze and discuss the information instead of listening to a presentation. Tufte likes handouts because we can read at least two times faster than someone else can talk. By reading, we can get through the information quicker – resulting in a shorter meeting.

Our December 4 meeting featured some of the elements Tufte encouraged. John provided a useful handout with the reformatted meeting guide. We read the guide before we discussed it, too. Using that handout, we efficiently reviewed the material within the time allotted. The item on our agenda that Tufte might say was unnecessary was when we each reviewed our individual work.

I like what Tufte is suggesting, but it requires the participants to remember that they did not just get stupider because they are at a meeting. Too many times, participants come to meetings to listen instead of participate. I think that is why our meeting assignment was successful – we all came to the table ready to participate at both meetings.

Finally, if meeting leaders remember people do not get stupider at meetings, participants might start leaving meetings a little smarter. Because of our discussions and analysis at our class meeting, I know I have new knowledge about working as a group and organizing effective meetings. That is a comment that would rate high on any meeting survey.