Pause and Write

We’ve all been in this meeting: two or three people talking back and forth while the same points come up again and again. The group circles the issue without landing anywhere, and the rest of the agenda sits untouched. This is when people start checking their phones.

Time to pause the conversation and get everyone writing.

How to reset the room

“Alright everyone, pause. Let’s open a document.”

1. Write the question the group is trying to answer.

2. Set a five-minute timer.

3. Everyone writes privately without talking.

4. When the timer ends, everyone pastes their answers into the document at the same time.

What happens next

Everyone takes a couple minutes to read the answers and add comments.

Then you ask a few people to verbalize what they wrote. When they do, they naturally share more of the context and emotion behind their idea. You understand it better when you hear it in their voice.

At this point, the group can see whether they have enough information to make a decision. Sometimes the decision is obvious. Other times the next action becomes clear.

You choose the next step, close the issue, and move on.

Writing creates clarity

Writing creates clarity. It’s linear instead of circular. And it forces people to slow down enough to gather their thoughts. Five minutes is plenty.

Working in parallel saves time and brings the whole group into the conversation.