The Glossary of Meeting Terms describes terminology and acronyms related to meetings and all the activities we do in those meetings. We've gathered this information from far and wide, so enjoy! And hey — if you have corrections or additions, please don't hesitate to contact us!
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6
The 6 Fields of Distraction is a way to identify the things that keep us from paying attention to the task at hand, or get in the way of accomplishing the goals we set for ourselves. In a meeting, any participant struggling with one of the 6 fields of distraction will have a hard time fully committing their attention to the work of the group.
Each of these has an impact, and if one of them is that play, then we’re not likely to be at our best:
Physical painExamples: backache... read more
D
Dominance in a meeting describes the behavior of a person who uses their position of authority or role in the group to control the situation in a way that excludes the fair and equitable consideration of other viewpoints. In other words, they use their position to bully and suppress the other participants. Dominance is considered a meeting dysfunction because it prevents healthy conversation and results in heavily biased decision making.
Dominance is a term commonly used in the...
read moreG
Groupthink describes what happens in meetings when a group focuses more on maintaining group harmony than in creating a quality outcome. Group members avoid the critical evaluation of ideas and suppress dissenting opinions in an effort to minimize conflict.
The term "Groupthink" was invented by social psychologist Irving Janis in 1972, who described these 8 symptoms.
Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks. Collective... read moreL
Lack of participation happens when participants remain quiet or do not engage in a meeting's activities creating a roadblock to meeting productivity. This is considered a meeting dysfunction that should be avoided by properly structuring the meeting to encourage engagement and include only those people who have an active role to play.
Low energy is considered a dysfunctional meeting dynamic that manifests in many ways: attendees look tired, don't contribute to the conversation, lose track of the discussion, etc. There are several ways to combat low energy, including energizing activities, replacing presentations with discussion, walking or standing meetings, and, of course, not scheduling meetings too early, too late, or right after lunch.
M
Multitasking is the practice of dividing attention between multiple activities at the same time. In a meeting context, this can be a problem as participants may check their email or prepare a presentation and not fully pay attention to critical parts of the meeting.
R
Rice at a Wedding is a term coined by Alison Davis to described a meeting where the topics haven't been curated or put into a sensible order in advance. This makes the meeting feel random and scattered, just like what you get when you throw rice at people.
This is not good practice, whether using real rice or metaphorical rice, unless you're literally at a wedding. Maybe not even then.
T
The interference of technology in our relationships, in our work, and in our day-to-day lives.
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