Getting Value from Involuntary Seminars

You have meetings back to back, and tons of work to do, including prep for your presentation tomorrow, so what are you doing sitting in this seminar? Easy answer: you have to be here. Your employer mandated it, or the presenter is your subordinate or colleague or supervisor, or you wanted to network beforehand but not necessarily stay, or you need to be seen in attendance or on the attendance list, or you're the CEO and you required everyone to attend, or on and on.

The value you derive from your attendance will be next to nothing (and possibly negative) if you sit their boiling in your own resentment at having to be there. Here are nine tips to help curb your resentment and get value from the seminar.

Make notes, physical or mental

If you outrank everyone in the room, making notes might not be practical, because people interpret your behavior in unexpected ways. But otherwise, notes can be helpful in consolidating your learning. If you take notes, do so continuously — write more than you think you need. You never know how things will fit together in post-seminar contemplation.

Sit near people you want to get to know better

If you're attending non-virtually, sit beside anyone in the room whom you'd like to get to know better. If you can choose from several, remember that the obvious choice might not be best. When it comes to unanticipated benefits, randomness can be your friend.

Know how to deal with information you already know

When the presenter says something you already know, there's elevated risk of resentment about wasting your time. The risk is real, but the feelings might not be justified. For example, even though you understand well the point just made, in how many ways could you have made the same point? Is the presenter's way new to you? If not, does it suggest a new and more engaging way to make the same point? Investigate how the presenter's approach might trigger new ways for you to think about that point or new ways to express it.

Know how to deal with what you disagree with

When the presenter says something with which you disagree, objecting aloud might be acceptable. If it is, engaging with the presenter in a confrontational manner is one choice, but there are others. Without stating your objection, you can ask the presenter how the point applies in a particular case that you constructed to illustrate your objection. You never know — maybe the presenter has an acceptable response.

If objecting Any short seminar — an hour
or less — has at least three
items of value to
anyone attendingaloud isn't acceptable, or isn't practical, ask yourself similar questions, silently of course, and later on if necessary. You never know — maybe you have acceptable responses.

Look for three take-aways

Any short seminar — an hour or less — has at least three items of value to anyone attending. What are the top three ideas worth remembering from this seminar? Even if the presenter's style is abominable, the presenter is probably a thoughtful professional who somehow earned the opportunity to present. Include in this list anything that needs re-writing to make its value more evident, and anything you already learned and are glad you did.

Look for two leave behinds

Any short seminar also has some leave-behinds — things not worth remembering, or not likely to be useful to you anytime before they become obsolete or overtaken by technological change. The nice thing about leave-behinds is that you don't have to remember them. Just make certain that they don't somehow find their way onto your take-away list.

Avoid mentally criticizing the presenter

Even if you abhor the presenter's speaking style, even if you don't like the presenter's PowerPoint technique, mentally criticizing the presenter on either count is an expensive habit. It prevents you from focusing on the presenter's message, which is presumably the most important reason for anyone to attend the presentation. Moreover, mental criticism sets your mind looking for things you find mistaken or worthless, and then, because of the halo effect, you might become predisposed to reject whatever the presenter has to say that might be valuable.

Pay special attention to…

Sometimes the most important ideas from a presentation make themselves known not by the presenter emphasizing them, but by the reactions of attendees. Pay special attention to anything that was unclear to you. Was the presenter's language poorly chosen? How would you have made that same point? Were you confused by some other factor?

Did you react strongly to anything the presenter, or anyone else, said? If you felt anger, what was that about?

Did another attendee ask a question that revealed difficulties of some kind? Is the concept confusing or subtle? Or was the presenter unclear? Did the presenter get confused about something?

Finally, did disagreements erupt among the attendees, or between the presenter and other attendees?

All of these incidents are potential indicators of difficulty in the subject matter. Try to understand what might be contributing to these difficulties. If you can sort that out, you might be able to make a contribution. If you can't, that could suggest how you might find answers later.

Finally, afterwards, as soon as possible, rewrite your notes, or write them for the first time if you didn't take notes. Because the rewrite almost always stimulates recall and learning, do it soon, even if you don't feel that you have time to finish the job. Do as much as you have time for right then, and then come back to it later when you have more time. The bit you did right away will help you do a more complete job later, but only if it's not too much later.  Top    Next Issue

Do you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Emotions at Work:

What's So Good About Being Laid Off?

Layoffs during the holiday period of November 15 through January 15 are far more common than you might think. Losing your job, or fearing that you might, is always difficult, but at this time of year it's especially helpful to keep in mind that the experience does have a bright side.

Responding to Threats: I

Threats are one form of communication common to many organizational cultures, especially as pressure mounts. Understanding the varieties of threats can be helpful in determining a response that fits for you.

Scope Creep, Hot Hands, and the Illusion of Control

Despite our awareness of scope creep's dangerous effects on projects and other efforts, we seem unable to prevent it. Two cognitive biases — the "hot hand fallacy" and "the illusion of control" — might provide explanations.

Solving the Problem of Solving Problems

Problem solving is sometimes difficult when our biases interfere with generating candidate solutions, or with evaluating candidates we already have. Here are some suggestions for dealing with these biases.

Unanswerable Questions

Some questions are beyond our power to answer, but many of us try anyway. What are some of these unanswerable questions and how can we respond?

See also Emotions at Work and Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming January 23: Judging Others

Being "judgmental" is a stance most people recognize as transgressing beyond widely accepted social norms. But what's the harm in judging others? And why do so many people do it so often? Available here and by RSS on January 23.

And on January 30: Conway's Law and Technical Debt

Conway's Law is an observation that the structures of systems we design tend to replicate our communication patterns. This tendency might also contribute to their tendency to accumulate what we now call technical debt. Available here and by RSS on January 30.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenrJJQASFHPjNtJNYkner@ChacKbBAIqwnFRBgectkoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, USD 28.99)

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program. Here's a date for this program:

• A recording of a program presented 6:00 PM June 29 (Eastern Time), Monthly Webinar, Technobility Webinar Series. You can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   
• A recording of a program presented 6:00 PM June 29 (Eastern Time), Monthly Webinar, Technobility Webinar Series. You can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program. Here's a date for this program:

• A recording of a program presented 6:00 PM June 29 (Eastern Time), Monthly Webinar, Technobility Webinar Series. You can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.