Getting on the Same Page

“At the end of a business meeting or a conversation, before splitting up, it can be useful to ask for one person to summarize in their own words what you all just agreed to.

If you’re formulaic about this, it can come across as patronizing.  Weren’t you listening?

But if you explain why you’re asking and show you respect the other person,  it typically lands well.

Here are a few approaches:

  • THE SAME PAGE:  “Before we break I want to make sure we’re clear on who’s doing what. Would you mind summarizing what you’re going to do before Friday?”
  • MOST IMPORTANT:  “We’ve talked about a lot here.  Would you mind summarizing the 2-3 most important points before we end?”
  • BIGGEST WATCH-OUTS: “What do you think are the biggest risks/watch-outs as you dive into this?”

Asking questions like this can save hours of re-work later.

New Online Course:

For more guidance on managing a team, see our new online course:  The Essentials of Leading a Team, designed for folks who are in a management position for the first time.  It’s filled with dozens of communication tactics on topics like building trust, providing direction, handling questions, and giving feedback. Altogether the video lessons take less than one hour to watch, so you can start applying the techniques immediately.  Click here for details and sign-up.

To learn more about how The Questions Company can help you and your team, please schedule a consultation.

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Stephen Mayo

A Seasoned Executive and Consultant, Stephen Mayo is the founder of The Questions Company, bringing an innovative coaching approach to help leaders get their busy workload under control so they have the bandwidth to make even greater contributions.

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