Scaling Conversations

CHAPTER 4Why Are Conversations Hard to Scale in Person?

The components of a successful conversation are readily available and relatively easy to understand and put into practice. Be open, ensure everyone has a voice, encourage listening and curiosity, and summarize shared understandings. We all get it wrong much of the time but we can all try our best to improve in each of those areas, making our group conversations increasingly effective.

If I never had to scale conversations to include more and more people, this book would be complete. And also, perhaps devoid of any useful insight.

Nearly every organization, at some point or another, needs to create capital by gathering insight and creating a sense of belonging with more people than can fit around a table. Larger group conversations are attempted yet they fail to create insight and belonging in both obvious and hidden ways.

The most obvious ways things fall apart, within small and large in‐person conversations, is social awkwardness, loud voices, and biases.

SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS

Groups of 15 people don't sit around and discuss topics of importance, in much the same way a table of 20 probably doesn't discuss drink options—they just order. And “beer,” aka shallow first‐thought‐best‐thought, wins the day. Groups larger than about six people require a facilitator to keep the conversation inclusive and productive. No organization has an unlimited supply of expert meeting facilitators who can ensure large conversations include ...