The New Corner Office: Let your opening be your overture

A lesson from orchestras on how to start your meetings

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thunderstruck adjective shocked in amazed by the power of fun
on Carnival Riding Bolt, the world's first roller coaster, would
see Brian got funderstruck so hard his ninety three year
old grandmother felt it three thousand miles away in Nebraska
and immediately booked the cruise Get Understruck starting at two
nine Carnival Shoose Fun Cruiser and US Always pro person

(00:25):
Double documency, Texas fees and port expense aditional restrictions apply
for detail on Carnival dot com STIPs Red Street, Bahamas, Panama.
Whence the last time you took a time Out? I'm
Ev Rodsky, author of the New York Times bestseller fair
Play and Find Your Unicorn Space activists on the gender
division of labor, attorney and family mediator. And I'm Dr
Addina Rucar, a Harvard physician and medical correspondent with an

(00:48):
expertise and the science of stress, resilience, mental health, and burnout.
We're so excited to share our podcast Time Out, a
production of I Heeart Podcasts and Hello Sunshine Repealing Back.
The layers are on why society makes it so easy
to guard men's time like it's diamonds, and treat women's
time like it's infinite, like sand. And so whether you're

(01:08):
partnered with or without children, or in a career where
you want more boundaries, this is the place for you,
for people of all family structures. So take this time
out with us to learn, get inspired, and most importantly,
reclaim your time. Listen to Time Out a fair Play
podcast on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

(01:30):
wherever you get your podcasts. We've all felt left out,
and for people who moved to this country, that feeling
lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn
how it Belonging begins with us dot org. Brought to
you by the AD Council. Good morning, This is Laura.

(01:58):
Welcome to the New Corner Office, the podcast where we
share strategies for thriving in the new world of work
where location and ours are more flexible than in the past.
Today's tip is to let the first five minutes of
a video conference be like the overture for the meeting.
Pick up the major themes and set the tone in

(02:20):
a compressed way, and you'll create a more cohesive and
productive whole. If you're like a lot of people, this December,
you'll watch The Nutcracker, the mesmerizing story ballet set to
Tchaikowski's beloved music. Of course, this year you might be
watching from the couch instead of in a grand theater,

(02:40):
but still from the moment the music begins, listeners are
transported to a Christmas party at Clara's house, a battle
between soldiers and mice, and the magical land of the suites.
The Nutcracker begins with the miniature overture, which were introduced
to some of the themes and instruments will hear again later.
Many different ballets or operas begin this way. Composers know

(03:05):
that how we begin is how we go, and a
good overture is a preview of what's to come. You
can do something similar to start your grand productions, otherwise
known as your meetings. Here's what I mean. The first
few minutes of a meeting are seldom focused on the
exact core question that you intend to address. They are

(03:27):
the opener, but they also set the tone and shouldn't
be treated as a throat clearing throw away moment where
everyone mumbles something about the weather. Treat it strategically. This
overture can prepare people for a great session. So step one,
think about it. An orchestra doesn't just sit down and

(03:49):
see what happens, and neither should you. Second, find a
way into your main topic that's in a slightly varied form.
So for instance, if you're talking about themes for an
upcoming virtual conference, you might ask people to share one
cool thing they've experienced in a recent virtual conference or webinar.
You can put this question on the agenda so people

(04:11):
aren't stomped, well unless they didn't look at the agenda,
in which case, don't have those people go first. If
you're getting feedback on a grant proposal for a summer
youth program, everyone might share a thirty second summer job
memory or a camp memory or something along those lines.
And Third, you want people to act in the overture

(04:35):
as they will in the rest of the meeting. And
those two examples, people were going to be asked for ideas,
so you want to get them sharing ideas. And even
more importantly, you want everyone sharing ideas within rules going
around the room in turn time limited, and with people
getting used to hearing all voices, everyone else is getting

(04:57):
background on people's perspectives. They are actively listening. That sets
the tone exactly as you want the meeting to proceed. If,
on the other hand, you want people's ideas, but you
start the meeting with a five minute diet tribe against
something completely unrelated, well people are going to be furtively
cleaning out their inbox and good luck getting ideas later.

(05:21):
How we start is how we go. An overture doesn't
last forever. It is just a few minutes, but a
well executed overture establishes that you have gathered for a purpose,
The meeting has been thought through as a coherent whole,
and you have expectations for the group. Maybe not to

(05:41):
play a glockenspield or dance like the sugar culmb Ferry,
but everyone will perform their rules and concert together and
create something really cool as a result. And when it
comes to meetings, that is music to my years. In
the meantime, this is aur Thanks for listening, and here's

(06:02):
the succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New Corner
Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts,
visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your favorite shows. Thunderstruck adjective shocked in amazed

(06:23):
by the Power of Fun on Carnival Riding Bolt, the
world's first roller coaster, would see Brian got Funderstruck So
hard is ninety three year old grandmother felt it three
thousand miles away in Nebraska and immediately booked the cruise
Get Understruck Starting at two eight nine Carnival shoose on

(06:45):
Cruiser and USLWA was pro person double documency, Texas fees
and port expense, additional restricts and apply for details on
Carnival dot com ships Red Street, Bahma, Panama. After thirty years,
it's time to return to the halls of West Beverly
High and hang out at the peach pit. On the
podcast nine two one o MG, visit Jenny Guard and
Tory Spelling for a rewatch of the hit series Beverly
Hills nine O two one oh. From the very beginning,

(07:05):
we get to tell the fans all of the behind
the scenes stories to actually happen, so they know what
happened on camera obviously, but we can tell them all
the good stuff to happen off camera. Listen to nine
O two one o MG on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We've all
felt left out, and for people who moved to this country,

(07:26):
that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change
that learn how it Belonging begins with us dot org.
Brought to you by the AD Council