Have you ever been in a meeting and the conversation just starts going in every direction but the one you’d like to focus on?
For example, someone mentions a topic, and another person jumps in to add their thoughts, then another team member adds to that. Before you know it, the entire group is now discussing something outside the scope of your meeting.
How do you keep your meeting on track and off the “shiny buttons”?
Let us introduce you to **drum roll please**, the Parking Lot Method! This will help solve all these problems!
The Parking Lot is a placeholder for capturing ideas that should be addressed outside of the meeting. It keeps your meeting on course, and it shows the contributor(s) that you acknowledge their idea/concern.
Let’s break it down:
Draw a square on your whiteboard, blackboard, flip chart, smartboard, or whatever canvas you’re using to capture ideas. If you don’t have a shared visible space for the parking lot, ask one team member to keep track of the parking lot in their notes.
At the end of the meeting, leave a few minutes to review the parking lot items.
- Whenever an idea or issue is no longer relevant, it should be removed.
- If an item can be addressed immediately in the time remaining, it should be discussed now.
- When an item needs additional homework (additional information needs to be collected for decision-making) or there is simply not enough time, it should be added to a future agenda or moved to an email conversation.
? PIN IT
Boom. Mic Drop. You stayed on topic AND covered any other issues that needed addressing.
Here’s to happy and productive meetings!
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