![]() Inevitably, meetings tend to take longer than anticipated, which is the whole reason why a timekeeper is needed. The timekeeper must keep one eye on the clock at all times while participating in the meeting and avoid getting so caught up in the discussion that he or she forgets to check the time. Time limits for certain subsets of the meeting, such as a brainstorming session or discussion of a specific topic, may also be set. The length should not be arbitrary – it should be chosen so that there is sufficient time to accommodate all the topics that need to be covered. In order for the timekeeper to do the job, the length of the meeting needs to be set ahead of time, and all the participants need to agree to it. In other words, the ideal choice is someone who is expected to take a more indirect or supporting role in the discussion. The person selected should be someone other than the meeting leader, and preferably someone who will not be in the thick of the discussion. The first step is to designate the timekeeper. But if as a company you want to ensure that your meetings don’t swell up beyond reasonable proportions, using a timekeeper is a good thing to do. I’m not sure if this is a result of different cultural attitudes that Japanese have about meetings, or the fact that meetings across cultural and linguistic barriers tend to take more time for clarification and explanation. In particular, I hear a lot of complaints from Americans who work at Japanese companies about how their entire workday is consumed by meetings, to the point where it becomes difficult to accomplish any other work. The result can be meetings that seem to drag on forever, eating up everyone’s valuable time. And when people are involved in a conversation, they can lose track of how much time is passing. Let’s face it: Many people like to hear themselves talk, and will go on and on if left unchecked. Yet actually very few people take this simple step when they hold a meeting. ![]() ![]() This article is part of a series on effective meetings between Japanese and non-Japanese.ĭesignating a timekeeper, and allowing that person to perform their role, is a very effective way to keep meetings on track and productive.
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