Taylor Davidson · In an unexpected meeting with unexpected people about unexpected ideas.

“Fill out these forms after the meeting to give feedback.”

“What are these forms going to be used for?”

“You know, I don’t know.”

Um, ok.

I’ve learned a lot about meetings over the years.

It’s come through experience. I’ve been in a lot of meetings. And right now, my job revolves around meeting people face-to-face, one-on-one, small groups, in engaged conversations and passive presentations.

And so I’ve learned a bit about what makes them work. Having a clearly identified topic, agenda, leader, and follow-ups are a couple keys to making meetings work. I am lucky to be in a position where I typically have control over all these things: I am the leader, I set the topic, I set the agenda, the follow-ups are for me. And if I don’t have control, I am careful to choose meetings to attend where these things are set.

But sometimes, I find myself in an unexpected meeting I don’t control. ^[1]