Exercise · Facilitation for Managers
Meeting or Email?
Learn to decide, before sending the invitation, whether a meeting is needed, who to invite and how much time to give it.
Time20 minutes
ParticipantsPairs
MaterialsCards with 8 work situations
From the trainingFacilitation for Managers
Why this exercise
A meeting is an expensive resource: eight people for an hour at $45 an hour is $360 for one meeting. The shortest meeting is the one you don't hold. The exercise builds a simple habit: ask yourself five questions before you gather people.
How to run it
- Show the five questions before the invitation: what result will we have by the end; do we need to get together for it — or will an email do; who to invite; how long — 15, 25 or 50 minutes; what to send in advance.
- Give each pair 2–3 cards with situations. For example: "The office has different opening hours over the holidays", "We need to choose which of three projects to start next quarter", "An employee has missed deadlines three times in a row", "A product launch went worse than planned".
- 8 minutes: for each situation the pair decides — meeting, email, chat or one-to-one. If a meeting — who to invite and how long it will take.
- 12 minutes: pairs present their decisions; the group debates the disputed cases.
Debrief questions
- Which of your regular meetings could be replaced by an email or shortened?
- Who do you invite "just in case"?
- When is a one-to-one better than a meeting?
Tips for the facilitator
- There are several right answers: what matters is that the participant explains the choice with the five questions.
- If the hourly cost in the company is different, ask the group for their own estimate. The order of magnitude matters, not precision.