(Jared Spool posted this on Medium on 4/10/15, link here)
Here’s a way to make sure there’s alignment on the most important takeaways from a meeting: Reserve a few minutes at the end and ask team members to answer 3 questions in 60 seconds on a sheet of paper:
- What was the big idea? (What was the most important thing you heard at the meeting?)
- What was your big surprise? (What was the thing you saw or heard that surprised you the most?)
- What’s your big question? (What’s the biggest unanswered question you have at this time?)
After the minute is up, go around the room and have people read their answers. (Or collect them and do it anonymously.) Allow 2 minutes per person.
Jared finds that folks really do read what they wrote—just doing this aloud might allow people to influence each other too much. It’s a simple way to make sure everyone walks away with the same major takeaways
