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.
Oldest comments (24)
Love this! My son also likes listening to the song by Ariana Grande... so... fun!
Sounds like a good practice. Need to try it with our team. Thanks for sharing it!
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.
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.
Excellent!
That's why I literary like "Explicit"!
Love it!!
TBH "thank u, next" sounds extremely passive-aggressive when I read it.
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.
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?
Think I might see if I can get this to take off at work. Thank you... next!
In physical meetings I have used a ball before, passing it around to whomever needs to speak.
Everyone else shuts up, or gesticulates their want for the ball in silence if they need it. :)
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