For Responsible Negotiation Meetings: Concocting a Vaccine Against Meetingitis

A workday is often summarized as a succession of meetings, much too numerous and often unproductive! This frustration that can affect many negotiations is nicknamed “meetingitis.” This text concocts a vaccine against this disease of our time. A three-step approach aims at more responsible use of meeting times from the introduction to the conclusion, via the main body of the meeting. The prologue or introduction of the meeting focuses on people and process, building connection with the participants and structuring the meeting itself. The dialogue, the central part of the meeting, is devoted to problem solving: identification of issues to address, invention of solutions, evaluation of them before making a decision. The epilogue or conclusion addresses the process of next steps for proper implementation and finishes by a reconnection to the people. In brief, the meeting script is “people and process first, problems next, and finally process and people.”