Businesses and companies are inundated with job boards, many of which don't turn out as expected. The result: most people hate going to meetings. One of the big problems is that many of the meetings lack a real debate.
Only in Mexico, an employee has an average of five meetings a week, according to the report 'Collaboration 2.0', by the firms Ovum and LogMeIn; Furthermore, according to the HBR firm, 71% of managers think that most boards are "unproductive and inefficient."
On this issue, unproductive meetings not only translate into loss of time, but also in economic blows of more than 700,000 pesos a year, according to figures from Expandiendo.
One way to change these negative numbers is to improve the meetings that are organized and focus on making a more solid discussion through a good debate.
Having a good discussion helps transform unproductive meetings into something that people in attendance can really say: "The meeting was helpful."
Some tips
We are all on the same team. The debates are usually divided into three categories: the one that the objective is to persuade people that we are right; the one that the objective is to see ourselves better than the "opponent"; and that the goal is to find better solutions together. The latter is the ideal way to make the most of the cognitive diversity of a group. For this we must bring the discussion to a shared objective and emphasize that we are all on the same team.
Debemos recordar en la reunión que somos compañeros, no adversarios; que nuestro objetivo compartido es encontrar la mejor manera de solucionar los problemas que se presenten; que todos los puntos de vista para lograr un objetivo son bienvenidos; que todos los participantes son iguales y no hay puntos de vista mejores; y, sobre todo, que no existe un “ganador”. El equipo gana si avanzamos.
Listen. A good debate is a contrast of ideas that can be learned from and can even change our minds. Hence the importance of knowing how to listen to others, one must be receptive to opposing arguments, which helps to foster respect.
Don't make it personal. Hay que mantenerse alejado de preguntas que emiten un juicio sobre las personas, en lugar de sus ideas. Preguntas como “¿cómo puedes creer eso?” o “¿por qué no puedes ver eso o aquello?”. Lo mejor es plantear preguntas como “¿qué te hace sentir así?” o “¿qué te ha llevado a esa conclusión?”
“When people feel like their ideas are being attacked, emotions and ego start to play a much bigger role, causing the debate to drift in the right direction. Likewise, it is necessary not to make insults or personal attacks, nor to raise your voice or touch your colleagues ”, Navarro explains.
Knowledge and preparation on the subject. Debating is a skill that improves with practice. A good debater does not use complicated language, he speaks in a way that makes it easy to understand his arguments. For this, you must have preparation and knowledge about the issues to be discussed if you want the other person to understand your arguments. It is also a priority that something is not known, it is said and recognized.
Question. We must learn to question claims and not just say no. With this, it is most likely that there will be no progress in the debate.
Remember that you can always agree or disagree with the ideas and arguments of others, but the most important thing is that respect and camaraderie should always reign. As the saying goes: the courteous does not take away the brave.
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