Are your meetings chronically disengaging—or worse, easily derailed? It may be time to introduce curiosity into the agenda to keep people focused and things on track.
 
First, direct the team’s attention to identifying the problem you’re there to solve. Rather than doing this for them, ask everyone in the room to define the goal of the meeting in one sentence. Clarifying a collective mission at the outset will help align team members and reduce confusion or irrelevant sidebars.
 
Then let your employees do the talking. Just because you’re leading the meeting doesn’t mean you have to dominate it. Show curiosity, ask others for their opinions before sharing your own, and actively listen. This is a powerful way to engage and empower people.
 
Finally, offer feedback—but avoid judgmental language. Judgment is the opposite of curiosity and can discourage and demotivate your team, leading to stilted, unproductive meetings. If you’re unsure how you feel about an idea, probe it. Simply saying “say more” is a nonjudgmental way of expressing curiosity and maintaining meeting momentum.
This tip is adapted from “How Curiosity Can Make Your Meetings—and Team—Better,” by Sabina Nawaz
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