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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

BAD
MEETINGS
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1 Warm up
In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What were the last three business meetings that you attended about?
2. What aspects of them were positive for you?
3. What aspects of them were negative for you?

2 Understanding the video - Part 1

Part A: Read the audio script from the beginning of a video. Complete gaps 1 - 8 with the words from
the list.

away for had in into make of up

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Picture this: It’s Monday morning, you’re at the office, you’re settling for the day at
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work, and this guy that you sort of recognise from down the hall, walks right your
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cubicle and he steals your chair. Doesn’t say a word, just rolls with it. Doesn’t give you
any information about why he took your chair out of all the other chairs that are out there. Doesn’t
acknowledge the fact that you might need your chair to get some work done today. You wouldn’t
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stand it. You’d a stink. You’d follow that guy back to his cubicle and
you’d say, "Why my chair?" Okay, so now it’s Tuesday morning and you’re at the office, and a meeting
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invitation pops in your calendar. (Laughter) And it’s from this woman who you kind
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know from down the hall, and the subject line references some project that you heard
a little bit about. But there’s no agenda. There’s no information about why you were invited to the
meeting. And yet you accept the meeting invitation, and you go. And when this highly unproductive
session is over, you go back to your desk, and you stand at your desk and you say, "Boy, I wish I had
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those two hours back, like I wish I my chair back."

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Part B: Now complete the questions where necessary and answer them in your own words.

1. What does ‘settle _____’ mean?

2. If you ‘wouldn’t stand _____’ something, what does it mean?

3. What do you do if you ‘_____ a stink’?

4. What does ‘pop _____’ mean?

5. What does the speaker mean when he says you ‘kind _____ know’ the woman from down the hall?

6. What is the main point that the speaker is making in this section of the talk?

Now watch the first part of the video (00.00 - 01.10) to check your answers.

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3 Focus on vocabulary

Complete the definitions with the phrases from the list.

affect a large area due to the need make sure rules

strange or mysterious that indicates a problem without any thought

1. mindless (adj.): acting

2. syndrome (n): a way of behaving

3. pervasive (adj.): slowly spreading to or all parts of something

4. moderator (n): a person whose job it is to are followed or a discussion is fair

5. eerily (adv.): in a way that is

6. tentative (adj.): not being definite, possibly to change later

4 Understanding the video - Part 2

Watch Part 2 of the video (01:10 - 06:31) and choose the best answer a - c for questions 1 - 8.

1. What does the speaker compare to a global epidemic?

a. unquestioning acceptance of meeting requests

b. needing to meet unnecessarily every day

c. using technology instead of face-to-face meetings

2. What does the speaker say has affected how we collaborate?

a. the spread of people working remotely rather than in the office

b. the variety of functions available on smartphones

c. the increased ease of communication and a globalised workforce

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3. What did the speaker do in the video he showed?

a. demonstrate how an effective meeting should be run

b. gave humorous examples of why meetings can be awful

c. explained how a moderator needs to organise a meeting

4. What effect did the video have?

a. famous companies have asked to use it in their professional development

b. the speaker was able to launch a successful YouTube channel

c. it was turned into a television comedy series

5. For the speaker, the video’s popularity

a. wasn’t helpful to his career as he was fired from his job.

b. was perfect marketing for his consultancy business.

c. demonstrated a global issue around how meetings are organised.

6. Comments on the video showed the speaker that

a. people can be deeply unkind to one another online.

b. there’s a sense of helplessness around the issue.

c. people have different needs from meetings.

7. What advice does the speaker give?

a. avoid accepting invites to meetings from people if at all possible.

b. block out your schedule so that you can’t go to as many meetings.

c. contact the meeting organiser to query the focus of the meeting.

8. The speaker hopes that in future, meetings will be created

a. more thoughtfully.

b. less frequently.

c. more spontaneously.

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5 Reading for gist

Match the headings 1 - 6 to paragraphs A - D. You will not need all of the headings.

Not used Not used Paragraph A Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D

1. Answering the tough questions -

2. Creating structure -

3. Problematic management -

4. Insufficient reasons for meeting -

5. The ‘feel good’ factor -

6. Active inclusion -

6 Reading comprehension

Part A: Write the correct sentence a - f in gaps 1 - 6.

a. Where possible, outcomes should satisfy all parties and everyone should be thanked for their
involvement and contributions.

b. Meetings can function as downtime as well as ‘work’.

c. An agenda should be made available either prior to, or at the start of, the meeting as this will give
a sense of focus and progress as it progresses.

d. Regularly meeting with team members or managers is valid, but only as long as there is something
concrete to discuss.

e. Primarily, it needs to bring together people to do something that they couldn’t have done
separately.

f. As well as deciding what the meeting is to achieve, careful consideration needs to be given to who
will attend.

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This couldn’t have been an email

How to run a successful meeting

A. A meeting can potentially be a great opportunity to collaborate with colleagues and achieve mutual objectives.
Yet instead, they often waste time and sow confusion. The weekly or monthly automatic meetings are a major
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culprit here. . Meetings called as a reaction to new information or a new direction for a project
can also be guilty of this when the leader hasn’t got a clear handle on how to proceed and what relevance it has
to the others in the room. Then there are the managers who are prone to calling a meeting simply because they
can, using it mainly as a showcase for their own importance. There’s also the fact that meetings are an accepted
component in a work day which are generally less demanding and more sociable than the nuts and bolts of genuine
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productivity. .
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B. For a meeting to be efficient, it needs to meet certain criteria. . Generally this should be making
a decision or analysing a problem. All too often they are used to share information which is only really of use if
it’s immediately pertinent to people’s work. If it’s something that is coming in the future, then an email, a video
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recording or a memo would be better. . This should be restricted to people that the meeting
cannot function without, or are unable to do their jobs without knowing what is happening in the meeting.

C. If the questions of what do we want to achieve? and who do we need to achieve it? have been properly addressed,
then the intention of the meeting should be clear to all concerned, though it is the responsibility of the meeting
leader to ensure it is clear. Parameters should also be created in terms of how much time the meeting should take
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and how much time is going to be allocated to discussing each point. . Should a particular point
require further discussion, then the organisers face a clear choice between coming back to it at a later meeting, or
moving later items to another meeting. Keeping to the advertised time is essential as it helps everyone to manage
their own responsibilities and encourages confidence in future meetings.

D. Speaking of building confidence, everyone at the meeting should feel able to contribute their ideas and concerns
without being belittled. Organisers should actively question any viewpoints to ensure that they understand them.
Even if they do not agree with them, it’s important to validate and appreciate all input. If attendees feel that their
ideas are not appreciated or respected, organisers will not get the full range of benefits from assembling a group
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of people. . Once again, this will lay the groundwork for attendees to feel they have used their
time well and as a result, they will be much more open to the next meeting.

Sources: McKinsey, Forbes, Harvard Business Review

Part B: Answer the following questions in your own words.

1. What is the meaning of ‘hasn’t got a clear handle on’ in paragraph A?

2. What is the meaning of ‘the nuts and bolts’ in paragraph A?

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7 Finding vocabulary

Find vocabulary in the article that has the same meaning as the following definitions.

1. being shared by two or more people (adj., para. A)

2. something which is responsible for creating a problem (n, para. A)

3. being relevant to a particular situation (adj., para. B)

4. something which determines the limits to the way something is done (n, para.
C)

5. officially give something for a particular reason (v, para. C)

6. make someone or their work seem to be unimportant (v, para. D)

7. say or show that something is useful and of a good standard (v, para. D)

8. bring a group of people together (v, para. D)

8 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Are you guilty of Mindless Accept Syndrome? If so, why do you personally think this is? If not,
what do you do that prevents it?
2. What do you generally not like about business meetings in your experience?
3. Think back to the meetings you were discussing in the Warm up at the beginning of the lesson,
what do you think could have been done to improve them?
4. Do you think the advice the speaker gives in the video on how to improve meetings is practical in
your working situation? Why/Why not?
5. If you were able to make some rules for meetings in your company, what would they be?

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9 Extended activity/Homework - Collocations

Part A: Match the words from the video to form a collocation.

1. global a. belief

2. involuntary b. epidemic

3. yield c. wreck

4. self-inflicted d. reflex

5. train e. results

6. fundamental f. wound

Part B: Now use the collocations to fill the gaps in the following sentences.

1. In this company, we hold the that customers will always choose quality over
short-term savings.

2. The meeting started late, was interrupted several times and then the presenter didn’t have the
right presentation. It was an absolute .

3. I can’t believe I groaned when he said the company is like a family. It was a/an .

4. We strongly believe that, given time, this customer-focused approach will .

5. If you treat people that way, of course you’re going to get fired. I don’t feel sorry for him at all, it
was entirely a/an .

6. Millions of people are quitting their company jobs to work for themselves, it’s like a/an
.

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Transcripts

4. Understanding the video - Part 2

Script: -1-

David Grady: Picture this: It’s Monday morning, you’re at the office, you’re settling in for the day at
work, and this guy that you sort of recognize from down the hall, walks right into your
cubicle and he steals your chair. Doesn’t say a word just rolls away with it. Doesn’t
give you any information about why he took your chair out of all the other chairs that
are out there. Doesn’t acknowledge the fact that you might need your chair to get
some work done today. You wouldn’t stand for it. You’d make a stink. You’d follow
that guy back to his cubicle and you’d say, "Why my chair?"

David Grady: Okay, so now it’s Tuesday morning and you’re at the office, and a meeting invitation
pops up in your calendar. (Laughter) And it’s from this woman who you kind of know
from down the hall, and the subject line references some project that you heard a little
bit about. But there’s no agenda. There’s no information about why you were invited
to the meeting. And yet you accept the meeting invitation, and you go. And when this
highly unproductive session is over, you go back to your desk, and you stand at your
desk and you say, "Boy, I wish I had those two hours back, like I wish I had my chair
back." (Laughter)

Script: -2-

David Grady: Every day, we allow our coworkers, who are otherwise very, very nice people, to steal
from us. And I’m talking about something far more valuable than office furniture.
I’m talking about time. Your time. In fact, I believe that we are in the middle of a
global epidemic of a terrible new illness known as MAS: Mindless Accept Syndrome.
(Laughter) The primary symptom of Mindless Accept Syndrome is just accepting a
meeting invitation the minute it pops up in your calendar. (Laughter) It’s an involuntary
reflex – ding, click, bing – it’s in your calendar, "Gotta go, I’m already late for a meeting."
(Laughter)

David Grady: Meetings are important, right? And collaboration is key to the success of any
enterprise. And a well-run meeting can yield really positive, actionable results.
But between globalisation and pervasive information technology, the way that we
work has really changed dramatically over the last few years. And we’re miserable.
(Laughter) And we’re miserable not because the other guy can’t run a good meeting,
it’s because of MAS, our Mindless Accept Syndrome, which is a self-inflicted wound.

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David Grady: Actually, I have evidence to prove that MAS is a global epidemic. Let me tell you why.
A couple of years ago, I put a video on YouTube, and in the video, I acted out every
terrible conference call you’ve ever been on. It goes on for about five minutes, and it
has all the things that we hate about really bad meetings. There’s the moderator who
has no idea how to run the meeting. There are the participants who have no idea why
they’re there. The whole thing kind of collapses into this collaborative train wreck.
And everybody leaves very angry. It’s kind of funny. (Laughter) Let’s take a quick look.

Video: Our goal today is to come to an agreement on a very important proposal. As a group,
we need to decide if – bloop bloop – Hi, who just joined? Hi, it’s Joe. I’m working
from home today. (Laughter) Hi, Joe. Thanks for joining us today, great. I was just
saying, we have a lot of people on the call we’d like to get through, so let’s skip the roll
call and I’m gonna dive right in. Our goal today is to come to an agreement on a very
important proposal. As a group, we need to decide if – bloop bloop (Laughter) – Hi,
who just joined? No? I thought I heard a beep. (Laughter)

David Grady: Sound familiar? Yeah, it sounds familiar to me, too. A couple of weeks after I put that
online, 500,000 people in dozens of countries, I mean dozens of countries, watched
this video. And three years later, it’s still getting thousands of views every month.
It’s close to about a million right now. And in fact, some of the biggest companies
in the world, companies that you’ve heard of but I won’t name, have asked for my
permission to use this video in their new-hire training to teach their new employees
how not to run a meeting at their company. And if the numbers – there are a million
views and it’s being used by all these companies – aren’t enough proof that we have
a global problem with meetings, there are the many, many thousands of comments
posted online after the video went up. Thousands of people wrote things like, "OMG,
that was my day today!" "That was my day every day!" "This is my life." One guy wrote,
"It’s funny because it’s true. Eerily, sadly, depressingly true. It made me laugh until I
cried. And cried. And I cried some more." (Laughter) This poor guy said, "My daily life
until retirement or death, sigh." These are real quotes and it’s real sad.

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David Grady: A common theme running through all of these comments online is this fundamental
belief that we are powerless to do anything other than go to meetings and suffer
through these poorly run meetings and live to meet another day. But the truth is, we’re
not powerless at all. In fact, the cure for MAS is right here in our hands. It’s right at our
fingertips, literally. It’s something that I call No MAS! (Laughter) Which, if I remember
my high school Spanish, means something like, "Enough already, make it stop!" Here’s
how No MAS works. It’s very simple. First of all, the next time you get a meeting
invitation that doesn’t have a lot of information in it at all, click the tentative button!
It’s okay, you’re allowed, that’s why it’s there. It’s right next to the accept button. Or
the maybe button, or whatever button is there for you not to accept immediately.
Then, get in touch with the person who asked you to the meeting. Tell them you’re
very excited to support their work, ask them what the goal of the meeting is, and tell
them you’re interested in learning how you can help them achieve their goal. And if we
do this often enough, and we do it respectfully, people might start to be a little bit more
thoughtful about the way they put together meeting invitations. And you can make
more thoughtful decisions about accepting it. People might actually start sending out
agendas. Imagine! Or they might not have a conference call with 12 people to talk
about a status when they could just do a quick email and get it done with. People just
might start to change their behaviour because you changed yours. And they just might
bring your chair back, too. (Laughter) No MAS! Thank you. (Applause)

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This task aims to get students thinking about their own experience of business meetings to use as a reference
when watching the video and reading the article later in the lesson. Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs
or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

2. Understanding the video - Part 1

10 mins.
This section is aimed at introducing students to the video and deals with some of the vocabulary, ensuring that
the main ideas of the video are understood.
Part A

1. in 2. into 3. away 4. for

5. make 6. up 7. of 8. had

Part B

1. settle in - begin to feel comfortable

2. wouldn’t stand for - not prepared to accept something
3. make a stink - clearly show that you are unhappy about something
4. pop up - appear suddenly
5. kind of know - you do not know them well
6. That time is valuable and should be guarded in the same way as you would protect physical objects that enable
you to work effectively.

3. Focus on vocabulary

5 mins.
This task highlights some of the higher-level vocabulary used in the second part of the video.
Note:
collaboration (n): the act of working together with another person or group to achieve shared goals

1. without any thought 2. that indicates a problem

3. affect a large area 4. make sure rules
5. strange or mysterious 6. due to the need

4. Understanding the video - Part 2

10 mins.
Ask students to predict the answers to the questions. Then allow them to watch Part 2 to check their predictions.

1. a. 2. c. 3. b. 4. a. 5. c. 6. b. 7. c. 8. a.

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5. Reading for gist

5 mins.
You may want to give a strict time limit on this task to encourage students to skim read rather than read in detail.

1. Paragraph B 2. Paragraph C 3. Not used

4. Paragraph A 5. Not used 6. Paragraph D

6. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Part A, ask students to read the article more carefully and choose a sentence that would make sense and grammatically
fit in each gap.

1. d. Regularly meeting with team members or managers is valid, but only as long as there is something concrete
to discuss
2. b. Meetings can function as downtime as well as ‘work’
3. e. Primarily, it needs to bring together people to do something that they couldn’t have done separately
4. f. As well as deciding what the meeting is to achieve, careful consideration needs to be given to who will attend
5. c. An agenda should be made available either prior to, or at the start of, the meeting as this will give a sense of
focus and progress as it progresses
6. a. Where possible, outcomes should satisfy all parties and everyone should be thanked for their involvement
and contributions

Sources:
www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-an-effective-meeting
www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/04/18/how-to-run-successful-meetings-in-seven-steps/
hbr.org/2016/06/8-ground-rules-for-great-meetings

Part B
Ask students to use the context of the idiom to infer its meaning.

1. have an informed understanding of something

2. The essential, practical elements of something

7. Finding vocabulary

5 mins.
This task highlights some of the higher-level vocabulary and will aid with comprehension.

1. mutual 2. culprit 3. pertinent 4. parameter

5. allocate 6. belittle 7. validate 8. assemble

8. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

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9. Extended activity/Homework - Collocations

10 mins.
This task highlights some collocations used in the video.
For Part A, ask students to match the vocabulary to form collocations. You may want them to check the video
script in Part 2 of the video to check their work.

1. → b. 2. → d. 3. → e. 4. → f. 5. → c. 6. → a.

Part B
Ask students to use the collocations to complete the sentences.

1. fundamental belief 2. train wreck 3. involuntary reflex

4. yield results 5. self-inflicted wound 6. global epidemic

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