Minimizing the tremendous cost of meetings BRIEF Meetings Minimizing the tremendous cost of meetings

WE HELP TEAMS MASTER CONCISE COMMUNICATION. About the BRIEF Lab WE HELP TEAMS MASTER CONCISE COMMUNICATION.

CHARLEY THORNTON MANAGING PARTNER

Poll Question: Do you have more or less than 15 meetings per week?

3 KEYS TO BETTER WRITING Nail the subject line Put the call to action up front Make it look easy

40

80

WHAT LOOKS EASY? Short paragraphs Clean white space Bullets

500 (about 100 words or less)

SOLUTION: BETTER MEETING RECAPS

REDACTION EXERCISE: WHICH LEVEL 1 DETAILS MUST THE RECIPIENT FIND? Hi Alex, Sorry that you couldn’t come to the debrief session at the downtown office this morning. Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. Most of what we talked about are things that you and I have discussed with other team members before, so they probably will not come as a surprise. We spent a lot of time talking about the feedback that staff members gave on the Google poll that Erin had sent out right after the last session. Basically people were really satisfied overall, although, we got complaints about the lunch offerings (like last year most of the respondents favored including healthy options instead of the pizza bar on Day 2). We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. We should have a follow-up meeting with just the 3 of us to start brainstorming other ideas for the next event. I was thinking Tuesday the 15th and that also works for Erin so let me know if you have availability that day before or around lunch. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance. It seems like they are confident that they can book twice as many, and Owen was saying that he knows of a space in the other building that will accommodate a larger workshop, so we might be moving over there. If I think of anything else I’ll shoot you an email, or I can tell you when I meet with you and Erin, but you can also let me know if you have questions. Talk to you soon, XX

REDACTION EXERCISE: LEVEL 1 DETAILS Hi Alex, Sorry that you couldn’t come to the debrief session at the downtown office this morning. Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. Most of what we talked about are things that you and I have discussed with other team members before, so they probably will not come as a surprise. We spent a lot of time talking about the feedback that staff members gave on the Google poll that Erin had sent out right after the last session. Basically people were really satisfied overall, although, we got complaints about the lunch offerings (like last year most of the respondents favored including healthy options instead of the pizza bar on Day 2). We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. We should have a follow-up meeting with just the 3 of us to start brainstorming other ideas for the next event. I was thinking Tuesday the 15th and that also works for Erin so let me know if you have availability that day before or around lunch. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance. It seems like they are confident that they can book twice as many, and Owen was saying that he knows of a space in the other building that will accommodate a larger workshop, so we might be moving over there. If I think of anything else I’ll shoot you an email, or I can tell you when I meet with you and Erin, but you can also let me know if you have questions. Talk to you soon, XX You couldn’t come to the debrief I’m sending you notes We talked about the Google Poll feedback Good reviews for goal-setting breakout session We are keeping it Need follow-up meeting Tuesday the 15th? New team member Doubling attendance Moving venues

REDACTION EXERCISE: WHERE ARE SOME UNNECESSARY LEVEL 3 DETAILS? Hi Alex, Sorry that you couldn’t come to the debrief session at the downtown office this morning. Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. Most of what we talked about are things that you and I have discussed with other team members before, so they probably will not come as a surprise. We spent a lot of time talking about the feedback that staff members gave on the Google poll that Erin had sent out right after the last session. Basically people were really satisfied overall, although, we got complaints about the lunch offerings (like last year most of the respondents favored including healthy options instead of the pizza bar on Day 2). We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. We should have a follow-up meeting with just the 3 of us to start brainstorming other ideas for the next event. I was thinking Tuesday the 15th and that also works for Erin so let me know if you have availability that day before or around lunch. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance. It seems like they are confident that they can book twice as many, and Owen was saying that he knows of a space in the other building that will accommodate a larger workshop, so we might be moving over there. If I think of anything else I’ll shoot you an email, or I can tell you when I meet with you and Erin, but you can also let me know if you have questions. Talk to you soon, XX

REDACTION EXERCISE: WHERE ARE SOME UNNECESSARY LEVEL 3 DETAILS? Hi Alex, Sorry that you couldn’t come to the debrief session at the downtown office this morning. Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. Most of what we talked about are things that you and I have discussed with other team members before, so they probably will not come as a surprise. We spent a lot of time talking about the feedback that staff members gave on the Google poll that Erin had sent out right after the last session. Basically people were really satisfied overall, although, we got complaints about the lunch offerings (like last year most of the respondents favored including healthy options instead of the pizza bar on Day 2). We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. We should have a follow-up meeting with just the 3 of us to start brainstorming other ideas for the next event. I was thinking Tuesday the 15th and that also works for Erin so let me know if you have availability that day before or around lunch. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance. It seems like they are confident that they can book twice as many, and Owen was saying that he knows of a space in the other building that will accommodate a larger workshop, so we might be moving over there. If I think of anything else I’ll shoot you an email, or I can tell you when I meet with you and Erin, but you can also let me know if you have questions. Talk to you soon, XX

REDACTION EXERCISE: WHICH SENTENCES OR PHRASES ARE LONG AND WORDY? Hi Alex, Sorry that you couldn’t come to the debrief session at the downtown office this morning. Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. Most of what we talked about are things that you and I have discussed with other team members before, so they probably will not come as a surprise. We spent a lot of time talking about the feedback that staff members gave on the Google poll that Erin had sent out right after the last session. Basically people were really satisfied overall, although, we got complaints about the lunch offerings (like last year most of the respondents favored including healthy options instead of the pizza bar on Day 2). We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. We should have a follow-up meeting with just the 3 of us to start brainstorming other ideas for the next event. I was thinking Tuesday the 15th and that also works for Erin so let me know if you have availability that day before or around lunch. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance. It seems like they are confident that they can book twice as many, and Owen was saying that he knows of a space in the other building that will accommodate a larger workshop, so we might be moving over there. If I think of anything else I’ll shoot you an email, or I can tell you when I meet with you and Erin, but you can also let me know if you have questions. Talk to you soon, XX

REDACTION EXERCISE: WHICH SENTENCES OR PHRASES ARE LONG AND WORDY? Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance.

REDACTION EXERCISE: ELIMINATE LEVEL 3 DETAIL AND LONG & WORDY PHRASES Hi Alex, Sorry that you couldn’t come to the debrief session at the downtown office this morning. Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. Most of what we talked about are things that you and I have discussed with other team members before, so they probably will not come as a surprise. We spent a lot of time talking about the feedback that staff members gave on the Google poll that Erin had sent out right after the last session. Basically people were really satisfied overall, although, we got complaints about the lunch offerings (like last year most of the respondents favored including healthy options instead of the pizza bar on Day 2). We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. We should have a follow-up meeting with just the 3 of us to start brainstorming other ideas for the next event. I was thinking Tuesday the 15th and that also works for Erin so let me know if you have availability that day before or around lunch. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance. It seems like they are confident that they can book twice as many, and Owen was saying that he knows of a space in the other building that will accommodate a larger workshop, so we might be moving over there. If I think of anything else I’ll shoot you an email, or I can tell you when I meet with you and Erin, but you can also let me know if you have questions. Talk to you soon, XX

REDACTION EXERCISE: HOW CAN WE ORGANIZE THE MAIN MESSAGE VISUALLY? Subject Line: What you missed Hi Alex, Can you meet with Erin and me on Tuesday before lunch to follow up on the meeting you missed? In the meantime, Owen asked us to send notes on our discussion. Feedback in the Google poll was mostly positive, and for next time we will: Keep the goal-setting breakout session Double attendance Add a staff member (let’s discuss) Possibly move to a new space Talk soon, XX You couldn’t come to the debrief I’m sending you notes We talked about the Google Poll feedback Good reviews for goal-setting breakout session We are keeping it Need follow-up meeting Tuesday the 15th? New team member Doubling attendance Moving venues

REDACTION EXERCISE: EYE PATTERN Subject Line: What you missed Hi Alex, Can you meet with Erin and me on Tuesday before lunch to follow up on the meeting you missed? In the meantime, Owen asked us to send notes on our discussion. Feedback in the Google poll was mostly positive, and for next time we will: Keep the goal-setting breakout session Double attendance Add a staff member (let’s discuss) Possibly move to a new space Talk soon, XX How does it look? Can you pick up most important points from skimming? Is an action item or call to action clearly placed near the end?

REDACTION EXERCISE: WHICH EMAIL DO YOU WANT TO GET? Hi Alex, Sorry that you couldn’t come to the debrief session at the downtown office this morning. Owen asked one of us to send you some notes on what was discussed and I said that I could go ahead and follow up on it with you. Most of what we talked about are things that you and I have discussed with other team members before, so they probably will not come as a surprise. We spent a lot of time talking about the feedback that staff members gave on the Google poll that Erin had sent out right after the last session. Basically people were really satisfied overall, but the 2 main sticking points were the lunch offerings (like last year most of the respondents favored including healthy options instead of the pizza bar on Day 2) and the fact that the workshop on Friday afternoon was mandatory. We got good reviews on the goal-setting breakout session, so Owen said that we will keep that going forward with developing the specific schedule of activities for next time. We should have a follow-up meeting with just the 3 of us to start brainstorming other ideas for the next event. I was thinking Tuesday the 15th and that also works for Erin so let me know if you have availability. The main thing that was discussed is that we are going to add another team member for next time since we are planning on doubling the attendance. It seems like they are confident that they can book twice as many, and Owen was saying that he knows of a space in the other building that will accommodate a larger workshop, so we might be moving over there. If I think of anything else I’ll shoot you an email, or I can tell you when I meet with you and Erin, but you can also let me know if you have questions. Talk to you soon, XX Subject Line: What you missed Hi Alex, Can you meet with Erin and me on Tuesday before lunch to follow up on the meeting you missed? In the meantime, Owen asked us to send notes on our discussion. Feedback in the Google poll was mostly positive, and for next time we will: Keep the goal-setting breakout session Double attendance Add a staff member (let’s discuss) Possibly move to a new space Talk soon, XX How does it look? Can you pick up most important points from skimming? Is an action item or call to action clearly placed near the end?

When people see you reading it, they’ll expect to see a difference. Charley Thornton Managing Partner 630.310.5190 cthornton@thebrieflab.com www.thebrieflab.com

QUESTIONS?