Content Overload: How to Stop Your Audience from Tuning You Out

We’ve all been there – excited about attending that conference or strategic meeting, and yet somewhat skeptical that much will actually come of it. I have been in so many rooms – in-person and virtual – where?the?intention of the meeting is admirable. “We need to align on our vision!” or “We’ve got to become more focused on the customer experience!” are common rallying cries. Yet when it comes to the actual experience in the meeting room, the goals fall far short due to one main culprit: content overload. This often looks like:

Too much talking at the front of the room – and the zoom room.

Agendas crammed full with content and speakers trying to convey information.

People in virtual meetings unable to get a word in edgewise because content is being shoehorned into a tight time slot.

A non-stop barrage of voluminous PowerPoint slides, peppered with stats and text that are too difficult to read from more than 5 feet away.

A general ebbing away of the group energy and goodwill, as more audience members pull out their digital devices to check emails or social media or as cameras are turned off and eyes glaze over.

Conversation is kind of like a glass of red wine. When you create time and space, meetings can be much more enjoyable! Red wine tastes better with some aeration because it allows the tannins to soften and the flavours to mellow. Sure, you can gulp a glass of undecanted red wine no problem. But to appreciate its full flavor requires some time. It’s hard to make your conversations count when you’re deluging people with content, and not building in time, space, or opportunity for dialogue.

Here are 3 tips to help you find just the right amount of content to deliver in your next meeting – whether it be virtual, in-person or hybrid:

Mix Up Your Modes

While you undoubtedly have incredible knowledge to share, when you organize a gathering – whether with a handful of people or a few hundred people – it’s not only about showcasing your views or information. It’s not easy to assemble people and get the privilege of their time and attention these days.

Design your meeting to leverage the wisdom of the people in the room. Delivering a talk at the front of the room is just one mode of delivering content and value. Organizing small group discussions is another. So is running a brainstorming session. So is allowing time for individual reflection, buddy sharing and even large group discussion. Mix up your modes and create the space for your participants to reflect, speak, share and learn from one another.

Less is More

It’s a costly endeavor to run an effective meeting, and I’m not just talking about the costs of coffee and muffins, or the cost of tech hosts to help you run a smooth hybrid or virtual meeting. The real cost to an organization is the opportunity cost of everyone’s time and efforts being in the room in the first place, so there’s a lot of pressure to ensure you make the very most of it.

Once I was an all-day conference one time where they were so committed to content and making use of every moment they didn’t even schedule breaks for coffee or the washroom! Needless to say, the attendees were exhausted at the end of the day, and an opportunity for valuable networking or serendipitous conversations in the corridors that build relationships was squandered. During the pandemic people were clicking from one meeting to the next all day, and ended up feeling exhausted from all that intensive screen time.

Try planning your meetings with the principle of less is more. Marie Kondo is world-famous for teaching people to declutter their lives by using the question, “Does this bring me joy?” That question could be reframed for organizational contexts by asking “Does this bring us value and insight?” Create breathing room in your agenda for people to have the time to reflect and digest the conversation.

What’s Next and So What

So often the end of a day’s proceedings can feel like the end of a long day’s march through a deep bog, where people are limping to just get out of the room or turn off their computer. But information without action is useless. It’s unfortunate when the “Next Steps” section of a meeting are given a perfunctory 5 minutes at the end of a long day, when people’s energy, focus and willpower are likely at a low point.

Frame the importance of taking clear action right upfront in your conversation. Powerful questions you can ask include:

• What’s next?
• So what? Why does this matter?
• What’s going to be different tomorrow morning as a result of this?
• Who’s going to do what, and by when?

Clients use the graphic recordings my team and I create of important meetings as a road map and a checkpoint to ensure the conversation stays alive well after the meeting is over. I often design custom visual templates or charts to help clients make decisions and commitments on putting their thinking, learning, and insights into action.

“Begin with the end in mind,” said Stephen Covey. Don’t try to shoehorn in discussions about implementation and priority-setting until the very end of a crammed agenda. Design opportunities to keep that end in mind right from the very start of your meeting.