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Why Don’t They Get It? Understanding Learning Preferences for Better Business Analysis

Written by Janelle Edge on . Posted in Articles.

I am not a visual person.

This came to light early in my career when a stakeholder came to me with a beautiful diagram full of lines and colors and a few keywords. He handed me the picture and very proudly stated, “Here. This is what we want to do”, and then walked off. I stared at it for the longest time. There may have been tears. I spent hours translating that beautiful nightmare into written language trying to figure out what I was being told. My stakeholder was attempting to communicate with me the most efficient way he knew how, and yet I had a huge disconnect. There was no shared understanding. Eventually, I did figure it out, but it was a very frustrating process.

I never saw any value in images, so until this defining moment, I saw no value in including them in requirements. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but my question is, which thousand and what do you mean by them? For me, only words could answer that. Visuals just took up space and duplicated information that was already there.

Now I have much more empathy for those who rely on those symbolic representations. That one interaction started me on my search to incorporate all learning preferences into my business analysis processes. There was a lot of information on adapting teaching styles for each type of learner, but I could not find good examples of utilizing different techniques for different learning styles outside the classroom. Most people can absorb basic information through any method, but complicated material is easier to understand and retain when communicated in their preferred method(s).

Learning preferences can be categorized in several ways. However, for purposes of this discussion I will use:

  • Visual – Preference toward pictures, images, and spatial understanding
  • Auditory – Preference toward sound and music
  • Linguistic – Preference toward spoken and written language
  • Kinesthetic – Preference toward body, hands, and sense of touch

Most people have a combination of the above learning preferences. However, Business Analysts are a communication bridge for everyone on a project, so we don’t get to have a weaker area. We must learn to work within all learning preferences, regardless of our own personal style.

My first step was to take a free online self-assessment. My results were not all that surprising – Read/Write 13, Aural 8, Kinesthetic 5, Visual 1. That’s right. A one. No wonder mind maps trigger hyperventilation and all sorts of other stress responses! Unfortunately for me, visual is one of the most common learning styles. I needed to learn to speak that language quickly. I wasn’t going to become fluent overnight, but I at least needed to become proficient.

So, what’s a BA to do?

I now knew how crucial it was to start using visual aids. I created a guide to help me remember how to use several common diagramming tools. I started by using illustrations that were similar to my preferred linguistic style such as process flows and matrices, then expanded from there. I often refer to my catalog of visual aids for ideas on how to bring that aspect into my requirements as well as a reminder before joining large group meetings.

I’ve seen a lot of success since I consciously started considering diagrams and other images in requirements. I’m getting more feedback. I take that to mean more people are reading and approving the content rather than just approving to stop my nagging. I’m still not able to start with creating a visual rather than text, but maybe it is like a foreign language and I can get there with enough practice. I take consolation that I’m helping everyone get to that mutual understanding.

What are your learning style preferences? Are there any that you would like to improve?

Look for ideas in the lists below if you are struggling with a specific audience. Turn to your peers as well. If you notice someone skillfully incorporates a learning style, ask them for some ideas to expand your communication strategy or ask them to be a test audience when you try out a new technique. Once we’re aware of our own learning style preferences as well as those of our stakeholders, it becomes much easier to spot potential misunderstandings earlier or prevent them entirely – saving time, minimizing frustration, avoiding rework and helping us achieve a successful project.

Visual (learn through seeing)

Visual learners prefer:

  • Drawing pictures on the whiteboard
  • Organizing concepts into separate areas on the whiteboard to create “piles” that can be worked through
  • Color coding
  • Including diagrams of overall concepts in requirements documentation

How you can get there:

  • Allow yourself time to translate into a picture.
  • Arrive early for key meetings to create models on whiteboards or allow pre-meeting prep time to create images that can be shared virtually.
  • Write a legend for color coding and reference it as you write.
  • Review documentation to find areas that can be displayed pictorially.
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Auditory (learn through hearing)

Ever had someone ask to discuss an email or an invite, even with a clear agenda? I had a Project Manager that was an egregious offender. Every email, instant message and meeting invite sent was followed by a call. Everything was discussed at length until she understood. She is a purely auditory learner.

Auditory learners prefer:

  • Earworms
  • Minimizing silence during meetings
  • Repeating things out loud
  • Meeting in person rather than discuss through email

How you can get there:

  • Keep and follow a meeting agenda so that you always know what to discuss next. (Always a good idea regardless of who is in the meeting.)
  • Incorporate music where appropriate, such as at the beginning of a workshop while people are finding their seats.
  • Ask the auditory learning participant to summarize the meeting or concept just discussed.
  • When creating an email, offer to be available for a brief call or meeting to discuss or clarify.

Linguistic (learn through language)

Linguistic learners prefer:

  • Clear & precise written documentation
  • Exactly the right word to express a concept
  • Lists

How you can get there:

  • Provide summary talking points or step by step instructions with visual aids and demonstrations presented in meetings.
  • Use illustrations with a verbal component such as grids and process flows.
  • Keep a glossary.
  • Use unfamiliar terms regularly to reinforce their significance.
  • Review pictorial documentation to verify all requirements in the image are also put in writing.

Kinesthetic (learning through doing)

User Acceptance Testing is a wonderful time to leverage the kinesthetic learning style.

Kinesthetic learners prefer:

  • Demonstrations
  • New skill practice
  • Content in bite-sized chunks
  • Frequent breaks and activities that provide opportunities for movement during longer meetings

How you can get there:

  • Add activities such as role-playing to meetings.
  • Use a prop that can be moved around (sticky notes, ball, modeling clay, etc.).
  • Incorporate real-life stories and examples
  • Try collaborative games.

The Knowledge Awareness Matrix

Written by Larry Blankenship on . Posted in Articles.

Most everyone has seen the Productivity Matrix with the following rows and columns:

 

  Urgent Not Urgent
Important    
Not Important    

 

The idea is to focus most of our activity in the Important and Urgent quadrant. It’s critical to pay attention to Important but Not Urgent items so that they don’t suddenly become Urgent And Important. Avoiding putting effort into the other two quadrants is essential to productivity.

There’s a different type of matrix that can be used when gathering requirements. Use it to help identify information that might not otherwise have been discovered until the last minute or even after an application goes to production.

Murphy’s Law of Requirements: Unspoken requirements will always be revealed at the most inopportune time.

Think of it as a Knowledge Awareness Matrix. The intersections of knowledge and awareness show who is most affected, the Subject Matter Expert (SME) or the Business Analyst (BA). In all cases, it’s assumed the knowledge is needed in order to have a full picture of the requirements.

  Aware Unaware
Know SME SME
Don’t Know BA BA

I got the idea for this from a Donald Rumsfeld comment while he was Secretary of Defense. “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

PMI discusses this in terms of risk and refers to it with regards to evaluating risk. I use it when planning interviews with SMEs.

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The four categories are:

  1. Knowledge the SME is aware of – Things they are conscious of knowing and aware that other people will need to know.
  2. Knowledge the SME is unaware of – Things that are intrinsic to anyone with similar experience or in a similar profession. They may not be aware they need to tell other people about them because the assumption is that everyone knows what they know. Or they know it so well they don’t even think about it. Professional jargon, including acronyms, or a well-established process are places where this often comes up.
  3. Knowledge the BA is aware they don’t have – Questions that need to be asked because it’s readily apparent the information is necessary to acquire. This is most often the first draft of the questions that the BA writes for the initial interview. As elicitation continues, the awareness of other needed information becomes apparent. It’s important to identify items in category 2 as part of this process.
  4. Knowledge the BA isn’t aware they don’t have – Information that they don’t have and aren’t aware they need. This can be edge cases, specific rules, or data combinations that aren’t communicated.

In my experience, Categories 2 and 4 are the most dangerous and can cause the biggest problems in any situation.

They are the biggest source of last-minute changes, and it’s the BAs job to ferret them out.

Category 1 techniques

The question I try to ask at the end of every elicitation interview is “Were there questions you expected me to ask that I haven’t?” Often this helps to drive out information that the Subject Matter Expert (SME) knows and is aware that they know but forgot to mention during the interview.

Using reflective listening on a continual basis not only checks the BA’s understanding but may also help the SME remember other facts that they need to share.

Another technique I like is Example Mapping, which fleshes out a user story with rules and examples and that can drive out further detail. If you want more information check out Matt Wynne’s blog post here: https://cucumber.io/blog/2015/12/08/example-mapping-introduction

Category 2 techniques

Most BAs are familiar with the idea of egoless questions. This is useful when working with a SME that is extremely experienced and knowledgeable. Approaching them as a student, even when knowledgeable about the domain, can often make them more aware of what they know and the need to share it.

Questions that can be used to find edge cases that aren’t immediately obvious:

  • Has this process failed in the past?
  • What happened?
  • Was it fixed, or did you have to come up with a work around?
  • What did you do?

Another way to help elicit intrinsic knowledge is to interview a more experienced SME with a junior member of the staff in that area. Often the less experienced staff member will have their own questions, which effectively doubles the BAs interviewing power and will further prompt the more experienced person to provide information.

Category 3 techniques:

This is really the bread and butter of any BAs work. Asking questions, and capturing the answers is the most important thing we do. The most important tool in this case is a good set of questions. Taking time to prepare for the interview, reading any documentation, and researching any terminology specific to the area so you can speak the same language are all helpful in this instance.

Keep a record of the questions you’ve used previously in this domain, it can save you time if you need to do an interview with other domain experts.

Always focus on the domain expert’s needs in the interview. The goal is to present yourself as an advocate to get their problem solved. You want to be a trusted advisor, which will help your source be more open and comfortable about asking for your help.

Category 4 techniques:

This is the hardest category to work with, for obvious reasons. If you’re not aware you don’t have information you need, how are you supposed to ask about it? This can often combine with Category 2 in unfortunate ways. In this case the answer is to listen carefully and ask lots of follow up questions.

Things to watch for:

  • Unfamiliar terms
  • References to people or processes you weren’t aware of.
  • Answers that are overly generalized or vague.

Often following up on these questions can uncover additional information, either information that the SME hasn’t provided, or information that they didn’t know they needed to provide.

One technique to deal with this is from sales. There are lots of articles on sales web sites about discovering customer needs. Approaching the business with this approach helps them see you as an ally and trusted advisor in solving their specific problem. That will help things focused on what and why, rather than how, which is a big part of the BAs role, and the focus of the whole process.

What techniques have you used to uncover items in categories 2 and 4?

Model driven analysis – a way to work smarter

Written by Danie van den Berg, CBAP on . Posted in Articles.

Imagine you are the CEO of a major organisation and you are faced with trying to understand the impact of imminent new legislation on your processes, people and technology.

You need to understand the cost and time of implementing these necessary (albeit forced) changes throughout your entire enterprise. To accommodate the new legislation you cannot afford mere thumb-suck estimates. Having a complete understanding of how all processes, business rules requirements and systems relate to each other would be of immense value in helping make these decisions. If only you had a tool to help you with this…

What if a mechanism does in fact exist to help us understand the impact of changes like these in a more quantifiable way?

Read on!

One of the reasons why spiders are such prolific hunters, are that they utilise an incredibly effective hunting framework…
a web. This amazingly strong structure, allows them to know immediately when potential prey touches any part of it and if the prey becomes entangled enough…well, then dinner is served. The interconnectedness of the web, is what makes for the effectivity of alerting the spider to any possible action. The spider web acts as a kind of alarm system.

I can’t help to wonder if the early creators of the use of models to describe businesses, systems and architecture, did not have spider webs at the back of their minds when they started out.

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) was started in the late 1990s to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system .

Prior to UML, object oriented system pioneers used the Object Modeling Technique (OMT) as part of their approach for software development. They used this for :

  • testing physical entities before building them (simulation),
  • communication with customers,
  • visualization (alternative presentation of information) and
  • reducing complexity.

We all know that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and most of us have experienced the power of using pictures to clarify and to communicate. (Read: https://www.batimes.com/articles/picture-it-get-to-mutual-understanding-and-agreement-faster.html )

If we expand on the premise of using pictures (diagrams) to ‘model’ our business environments, we can potentially benefit in the following ways:

  • Re-use:
    You model a process once and you keep it maintained. This way, whenever anyone wants to know how a certain process works, which roles (people) are involved in it, which business rules are linked to it or what system realises the process, it is readily available. No starting from scratch to figure out how it works. It is a living, breathing model – not a document at the bottom of a dusty filing cabinet.
  • Central, single version of the truth
    Every single future project that touches an area of the business that has already been modelled, needs not be re-modelled again, since the most up-to-date version of the truth, is available to anyone (whether required for training, generating operating procedures or even for generation of job descriptions).
  • Traceability
    How often has your organisation made changes to a business process or to a system where this caused some unintended consequences or even breakages in other areas or systems? How much pain, time and money did these unfortunate changes cost your organisation, in repairs and remediation?
    If you model all the various elements of your enterprise and you link them all up properly, you will know exactly what affects what else. This traceability throughout all elements of the various components of the landscape provides an invaluable tool to understand in advance how changes will impact other areas. If you were to use a proper modeling tool, you will be able to easily generate traceability matrices from your model.
  • No loss of IP
    Ever had to run all over your organisation to find the right people who know how a certain process works? Ever had to figure out which of your colleagues’ version of the truth is the correct one? Ever squirmed when you heard that ‘the go-to guy’ has suddenly resigned and is leaving to go to your competitor and you know that there is no way to download all the knowledge to his successor before he departs?
    If you were to model your landscape, you are effectively transferring the Intellectual Property out of the heads of people and into the modeling repository. 
  • Applying best practice modeling patterns
    Ever wonder if you could not apply best practice patterns to your business environment? What if you could compare and replace elements very quickly and simply, by applying a best practice patters into your models? With a modeling environment you can. First in the model (for testing and impact analysis) and then in reality.
  • Improved decision making 
    Coming back to the first paragraph of this article, what if you could know (certainly a lot more accurately than by mere questimates) how much a potential change will cost and which elements of your business will be affected?
    With a model-driven business analysis environment, you can achieve this. This will provide you with a much more educated decision making framework. This model-driven environment, will provide you with a mechanism to architecturally design and monitor your entire business enterprise, from a requirements perspective.
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So besides all of these seemingly wonderful benefits of using models, most organisations generally fail to use models in adequate and consistent ways as an integral part of our daily analysis and product development routines.

Why is this?

Possible barriers to entry for adopting model driven analysis, are:

  • Lack of enterprise wide managerial buy-in. To build an enterprise model driven analysis environment, requires tools, training, maintenance and resources with a certain skillset to make it all work. All of these cost money and takes time. So without the appropriate senior managerial buy-in, the concept will never fly.
  • The need for all modellers to learn and use the same modeling language . This is actually more of a benefit than anything else. Sure organisations will need to get all modellers to learn and apply the same skill, but this is no different from getting them to understand their organisational culture, products and services, operating procedures, etc. So no real, substantial excuse there. Personally I would recommend the use of a modeling language that allows you to model all elements of your business landscape (I.e. process, information (flow, relationships, states), people, rules and requirements). One such a language is UML. Once all your modellers follow the basic rules and principles of the UML, using a modeling tool that governs then syntax, you are set. And NO, it really is not too complicated to learn! Any business analyst worth their salt, should model. Decide and settle on a set of modeling artefacts to be used in your modeling approach and once they meet your needs, stick to them.
  • Maturity and constant maintenance of business models. Once you embark on this road, your model becomes your single source of truth. It therefore requires constant maintenance. As & when the business rules, requirements, processes, etc. change, so must the models. Organisations often lack the commitment to keep these models updated, most noticeably because they do not assign competent and dedicated staff members to these tasks. In pure Human Resources lingo, the Key performance indicators and balanced scorecards, would ideally need to represent these tasks as key to such resources’’ deliverables.
  • Software costs. Let’s be frank, if you’re going to do it, do it right. To do it right, you’ll require the right tools and this will cost you money. Buying the right modeling tools and using them effectively will save you much more money (many times over) than the cost of the licenses. That does not mean organisations have to go with the most expensive options.
    Increasingly more and more affordable modeling tools, with centralised access- & version controlled repositories and semantic modeling language validation functionality are becoming available at very affordable rates. Go and find a modeling tool that fits your budget.
  • Establishing a comprehensive meta-model
    Imagine everyone just performs modeling based on their own ‘pictures’ in their minds. This would cause a nice lot of chaos. So before everyone runs off in their own direction, it is imperative that your organisation decides on a meta-model, that will govern how all your modellers will model. This meta-model will serve as a map to guide all your modellers. If all modellers model according to the meta-model, approaches will be similar and consistent and any subsequent reporting will be extractable in a uniform manner.
  • Enforcing quality assurance. If all your analysis are going to play in the same ‘sandpit’ there will need to be some rules…
    Obviously these rules should not be so prohibitive that they impede on your ability to deliver or make progress, but once you’ve agreed to what the rules (for instance the modeling rules, structure, ownership of objects, etc.) is going to be, it might be worth your while to invest in a dedicated QA person to vet the models as they get delivered. This QA person could also be responsible for managing ownership of various models or entities within the repository, back-ups, version history of models and adherence to modeling standards. The last thing you want is people inadvertently deleting or messing with another person’s model, without valid reason. 

In conclusion then, maybe you should relook the notion of implementing a model-driven analysis environment inside your organisation. Done correctly, it could save you lots & lots of money and significantly reduce your risk during decision time!
It would be great to hear your thoughts on this topic! Please feel free to participate in this conversation by adding your comments below.

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Modeling_Language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-modeling_technique
https://www.infoq.com/articles/8-reasons-why-MDE-fails

8 Productivity Hacks For Business Analysts

Written by Mark Delarika on . Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on 8 Productivity Hacks For Business Analysts

People fail to be productive daily, partly because they feel overwhelmed and partly because of the grandest enemy all professionals share – procrastination.

So, if you are a business analyst struggling to get your productive mode on, you are not the only one.

Basically, there are two ways to go about it. You can get caught in the productivity grinder or learn how to become more productive.

Naturally, you’ll choose the latter. Every professional wants to succeed in their business. Thankfully, we have the list of hacks to help you do this.

1. Use Lists and More Lists

A to-do list, a memory list, a tasks list, a breaks list, and even a workout schedule list. To be as productive as you can, free up the memory by writing down things. Lists are the best way to externalize the memory.

One of the biggest enemies of business analysts is the memory. Having a job that demands to remember dozens of things on daily basis is exhausting, and you can only manage to do it all for a limited time. Writing things down and organizing them in clear-to-follow lists will aid you in focusing on what needs to be done when it needs to be done.

This won’t take away the tasks you have, but it will certainly help you remember them all, prioritize them, and take a detached and critical look at the problems at hand.

2. Give Nature a Shot

A study by the University of Michigan shows that you can actually improve the productivity by no less than 20% if you just take a walk in the park. Why? Because a few minutes off that busy work schedule can do wonders for improving your memory and help you remain focused on what’s important.

Now the other question arises: why nature? Why not take a break at the coffee shop around the corner or have a walk in a busy, urban environment?

What we can all agree with is, nature has a great, calming effect on our minds. A peaceful break surrounded by nature and nothing that relates to your work and obligations is exactly what your mind needs to remain productive.

3. Daydream

Don’t go daydreaming about the next vacation or your bed at home. When we say daydreaming, we mean let your mind wander. And by this, we mean let your mind do whatever it wants to do.

Your schedules and lists come very handily here. Leave out short periods during the busy day to daydream. Get into a calming stage when you reach that default mode. This should help you solve problems and think of connections you probably wouldn’t consider otherwise.

4. Focus on the Big Things

Every business analyst must deal with small and big problems. However, being as great as you are, your job shouldn’t focus around the small problems. Learn to delegate these and focus on the big ones instead. The problems that can most impact the organization are your first and only priority, so give your maximum to solving those before you go solving anything else.

The idea of getting the small things done first to get fired up for the big ones or reduce the list of tasks is very wrong. It makes no sense to finish small things when the bigger ones are left unsolved.

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5. Make Use of Presentations

Presentations are very useful for business analysts. As soon as you start a project, begin with a layout of the analysis presentation.

It might seem counter-intuitive at the beginning, but it is a very productive habit. Such a habit will cut down the turnaround time of the project in half.

How do you do this?

You do this by creating a presentation, a document, or a simple writing on a white piece of paper. The form doesn’t really matter. The thing that matters is to note down and layout the outcomes that may occur from the very beginning, both the good and the bad.

Once you are done doing this, you can start looking at each of the factors to see what you can and should change. Use reasoning and mathematical equations and simply, create a sure starting point before you take the action.

6. Define the Data Requirements

This step comes naturally after the previous one. Once you have the analysis laid out in a comprehensive manner, you will have the data requirements right there in front of you. When you do, you need to:

  • Structure the data requirements
    Design the analysis tables instead of making a list of variables. Make a past campaigns table, a customer demographic table, a table for transactions made in the last year, policy changes for bank credits table, etc.
  • Collect as much data as you can
    Even if you are unsure about the variables you need, collect them upfront just to be on the safe site. Including some additional variables now is much better and easier than doing so later in your analysis.

7. Make a Reproducible Analysis

No, this is not as simple as it might sound. Any of the work you do might turn out to be less than reproducible, which can turn out to be a big problem afterward. If you are a beginner, perform your copy-paste steps in Excel. If you are advanced in your business, use a command line interface, but with care.

Similarly, a business analyst must be very careful when he works with notebooks. Don’t go changing previous steps if it uses some of the data set that hasn’t been computed yet. Notebooks are an excellent resource, but only if you maintain their flow.

8. Split Your Work and Take Regular Breaks

Everyone works better when rested. We mentioned taking a nature walk, but naturally, you won’t be able to do this all the time. To keep your productivity levels high, you need to do what every other person in the world needs to do – work in chunks and schedule breaks along the way.

Whenever you feel like you are overwhelmed with your work, take a short break. Get a coffee, take a walk, eat some chocolate – whatever makes you relaxed. Then you can back to that big project you are working on and stop when it is time to take another break.

Conclusion

These eight productivity hacks for business analysts are very effective when it comes to boosting the productivity. But, in the end, it all comes down to what works for you. Test them out to see and use the ones you find best for you to keep your analyst juices flowing.

Get the most out of your meetings: brush up on your facilitation skills

Written by Rohela Raouf on . Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on Get the most out of your meetings: brush up on your facilitation skills

Business analysts are meant to be good at facilitating, it’s meant to be one of our key skills.

However, speaking to many of the BAs in my network, facilitation is the one area that they feel that they can do more. I guess one of the difficulties with facilitation is that you don’t always end up with a tangible outcome. This then makes it harder to determine the value in what you have achieved. No, one wants to go a two-hour meeting, where they sit around the desk and discuss the same things over and over again. Often, people state that they find meetings really unproductive and go far as to say that they are blockers in getting things done.  

I disagree with this, I recently attended the IRM business analysis conference where the keynote speaker Clive Woodward (famous rugby coach) stated that he couldn’t work out why people didn’t like meetings. I agree with him, meetings are meant to be a tool and if the tool is not being utilised productive manner then it becomes more of a people issue. Instead of blaming the tool, ask yourself if it is used in the most productive manner.

So, to avoid your meeting become stale and boring, we have created some top tips to get you to think outside your comfort zone for meetings. I am not going to state the obvious like making sure you have a set agenda for your meeting or defined outcomes that you want to achieve. As, a business analyst, I would expect you do this for any meeting that you facilitate.

Tips

1. Try a new type of meeting format – Lean coffee

  • • This is one of my favourite type of meetings. So, if you have not done this before it is quite an easy concept to follow. Everyone in the meeting writes on a post-it note, items that they want to discuss. Put the post-it notes on the wall. Carry out infinity sort, to understand if there are any key themes that have come out around what people want to discuss.
  • • Pick the most popular item- if you don’t have one then I would pick one at random. Discuss that item for a period of 5 mins and then ask everyone if they want to discuss it further after the first 5 minutes. If, yes discuss for another 5 mins and so forth
  • • Top tip- I would recommend not discussing anything longer than 15 minutes- I personally find after 15 minutes’ people start becoming disengaged with the subject matter. If you have not received a conclusion after 15 minutes, I would suggest you move this to the parked section and come back to it at a later stage if you need to. It is important that after 15 minutes, you move onto another topic- avoid talking for the sake of talking.
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2. Pick a different location

  • • Unless you work at Google, your office will be a typical office- bright artificial lights if you are lucky you will have lots of glass or if you’re not then you will have white walls. If you are always meeting in the same location, then by human nature you tend to associate that space with certain emotions. So, if you have meetings that are lacklustre people then tend to associate that emotion with the meeting rooms that you have in office.
  • • So, once in a while go out of the office and go to the local coffee shop to hold your meeting there. Change of scenery is great, as it gets people to think in a different way. Also, walking to the local café will get people energised, as will the fresh air.

3. Observe where people are sitting

  • • If you have regular meetings, you will notice that people either sit in the same chair or they will sit next to the same people. By sitting next to the same person, you will end up inevitable. people embracing the same role each meeting. To avoid this happening. Mix it up a bit in your meeting, I am not suggesting you create a seating plan for your meetings. What, I am suggesting is that you gently steer people to sit in a different position.
  • • Top tip- if possible move the furniture around the room, this will naturally force people to sit in a different seating position to their usual. Also, make sure you are sitting in a different place to your usual seating position.

4. Give the dominated person a task

  • • We have all been in meetings, where there is one person who talks all the time. I would suggest, with that person give them either a flip chart pen or whiteboard marker and get them to make note of what everyone is saying. By, having to write they will naturally be focused on listening to everyone in the room. If that is not possible, then I would suggest you get them to read the actions from the last meeting. By giving them this role, you are getting them to focus on the other people in the room and the role that they place in the meeting.

5. Avoid multi-tasking

  • • Ban smartphones and laptops at meetings. When people are working on multiple things at the same time, they are not able to give 100% to either of these things. To avoid having semi-interested in people – ban the laptops. In my team, if we have a team meeting then everyone has to leave both their phones and laptops at their desks. This means people are more invested in the meeting and by having them more focused in the team discussion you are more likely to get a decision quicker.

So, next time you are going to facilitate a meeting, try one of the above tips and see what difference it can make to your meetings.