full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Cindy Solomon: 5 tips for dealing with meeting overload

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Now I know what you’re thinking: it’s hard to say no to a meeting. But it really isn’t. Simply tell the organizer the tutrh. You know that they’ve got this, and if they need you, simply give you a ring. You can also use the opportunity to delegate the meeting to a high performer or subject matter eeprxt who may be a better choice anyway. You can even simply let them know you have other pitirroies that week and ask if your attendance is necessary. All you need to do is communicate with honesty and clarity.

Tip nubemr five: be ruthless with your time. As any flhgit attendant will tell you, you have to put your own oxygen mask on first. It’s the only way you can be at your best for others, so give yourself time to do the things you need to in order to feel like a human being. That includes scheduling blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on your own work. If you have a project that going to take you 10 hours of really focused time and eorfft, schedule that time in your calendar. Try pitnutg in “no-fly zones” two huors a day, a few days a week, at whatever time you’re at your most productive.

Open Cloze


Now I know what you’re thinking: it’s hard to say no to a meeting. But it really isn’t. Simply tell the organizer the _____. You know that they’ve got this, and if they need you, simply give you a ring. You can also use the opportunity to delegate the meeting to a high performer or subject matter ______ who may be a better choice anyway. You can even simply let them know you have other __________ that week and ask if your attendance is necessary. All you need to do is communicate with honesty and clarity.

Tip ______ five: be ruthless with your time. As any ______ attendant will tell you, you have to put your own oxygen mask on first. It’s the only way you can be at your best for others, so give yourself time to do the things you need to in order to feel like a human being. That includes scheduling blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on your own work. If you have a project that going to take you 10 hours of really focused time and ______, schedule that time in your calendar. Try _______ in “no-fly zones” two _____ a day, a few days a week, at whatever time you’re at your most productive.

Solution


  1. flight
  2. hours
  3. truth
  4. effort
  5. number
  6. putting
  7. priorities
  8. expert

Original Text


Now I know what you’re thinking: it’s hard to say no to a meeting. But it really isn’t. Simply tell the organizer the truth. You know that they’ve got this, and if they need you, simply give you a ring. You can also use the opportunity to delegate the meeting to a high performer or subject matter expert who may be a better choice anyway. You can even simply let them know you have other priorities that week and ask if your attendance is necessary. All you need to do is communicate with honesty and clarity.

Tip number five: be ruthless with your time. As any flight attendant will tell you, you have to put your own oxygen mask on first. It’s the only way you can be at your best for others, so give yourself time to do the things you need to in order to feel like a human being. That includes scheduling blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on your own work. If you have a project that going to take you 10 hours of really focused time and effort, schedule that time in your calendar. Try putting in “no-fly zones” two hours a day, a few days a week, at whatever time you’re at your most productive.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
tip number 5
simply pick 2
purpose statement 2
goal tip 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
goal tip number 2

Important Words


  1. attendance
  2. attendant
  3. blocks
  4. calendar
  5. choice
  6. clarity
  7. communicate
  8. day
  9. days
  10. delegate
  11. effort
  12. expert
  13. feel
  14. flight
  15. focus
  16. focused
  17. give
  18. hard
  19. high
  20. honesty
  21. hours
  22. human
  23. includes
  24. mask
  25. matter
  26. meeting
  27. number
  28. opportunity
  29. order
  30. organizer
  31. oxygen
  32. performer
  33. priorities
  34. productive
  35. project
  36. put
  37. putting
  38. ring
  39. ruthless
  40. schedule
  41. scheduling
  42. simply
  43. subject
  44. time
  45. tip
  46. truth
  47. uninterrupted
  48. week
  49. work