Timers for Meetings
In meetings, some people ramble. Some people have difficulty figuring out when to interject into a lively conversation. Most people talk too much when given the opportunity.
I have recently been in a number of meetings where timers are used to limit people to specific allotments of speaking time. For many situations, especially when several type A entrepreneurs are gathered together, timers are very effective.
In EO forums, strict timers are used. People are not allowed to turn the timer off until they stop talking. At Atlanta Startup Village and B2BCamp, timers are used to keep people from rambling. StarupRiot and Venture Atlanta use timers too.
In our quarterly meeting yesterday, the biggest complaint was that our conversations were too loose. Timers could have tightened the conversations. While timers are not good for all discussion types, they are good for many business meetings.
What are your thoughts on using timers in meetings? Do you use timers?