Thank u, next
We try to keep our meetings quick and productive, so we have a couple weekly meetings structured such that folks submit their key talking points in Slack and then we run through them in order.
In order to alleviate the awkward "not sure if you're finished talking" silence of group calls, we have instituted a policy of saying "thank u, next" to pass the mic, so to speak. It also seems to cut off necessary rambling because folks know how to cut themselves off. And it all has a positive intonation by default.
The results have been great (at least I think so). It is a small thing, but it matters for a distributed organization.
Do you have any similar practices at your org?
Happy coding.
Top comments (24)
We use a conch.
In startup school, they designate one person to be a moderator so they are given the social allowance to police the meeting to stop rambling and keep the structure. I really like this method.
Very Lord of the Flies.
When I read conch. I thought of the spongebob episode with the magic conch shell. lol
Does the moderator, holder on the conch, rotate?
The Conch system is simply taking turns with no clear leader.
The Moderator controls all aspects of communication.
In a Moderator model, you'll want to rotate out the moderator per meeting, otherwise, people are going start hating that one person and lets other people learn to improve their communication skills.
Both systems have their trade-offs.
TBH "thank u, next" sounds extremely passive-aggressive when I read it.
It can if you're saying it to someone else, like if someone is talking and as soon as they pause for a breath you jump in with "thank u, next", but in this context the speaker themself says it to indicate that they are done speaking, not directed at anyone (or perhaps directed at themself). Used in that way, I can't find any passive aggression; who would it be directed toward?
I get that when I read it like this, abbreviated "u" and all lower case. However, saying it aloud doesn't carry that connotation for me.
I wonder who inspired that Thank You, Next one... 🤔
I thought about the "thank you, we'll let you know" scene in the (first?) Monty Python episode.
The one with the killer joke?
Thank you Guiseppe.
Playing sometimes the role of moderator or scrum-master, I got tired of cutting people short when they take too long to explain their status of the day, or other members get into discussions about this or that.
I also felt unpolite, who am I to decide when you need to stop talking, even for the sake of the meeting's efficiency?
Hence I came up with the 30 seconds cards. It's a card the size of a poker card, but with a number 30 in the front, made of cardboard. I made a bunch so anyone in the team can use them. When someone raises it (it does not have to be the moderator, but anyone in the meeting) means that you have 30 seconds to wrap it up. Those 30 seconds provide invaluable time to people to finish the message they were trying to convey.
Whenever someone joins the meeting online, they can also type 30 or just say it and it has the same effect. It's working wonders for us.
This way the responsibility about time efficiency is shared, people can finish what they were discussing/saying, and I don't feel unpolite anymore!
Cheers,
Gustavo.
reminds me of playing around with friends over walkie-talkies over :)
But however you're ending your turn. Having a stop word and passing the mic is a good way to improve the roulation times and prevent awkwardness and rambling!
Love this! My son also likes listening to the song by Ariana Grande... so... fun!
Love it!!
Sounds like a good practice. Need to try it with our team. Thanks for sharing it!
I might to implement this on myself as I’ve been catching myself meandering.
We say "no blockers" or "not blocked".
Unless we're blocked. Then we say what's blocking our work.