Clear the air at the start of every meeting.

technique — attributed to Xavier Mufraggi

Mufraggi opens online meetings with two checks. First, something positive: connect, learn something new about someone, takes two minutes. Then: is there something that will take your mind out of this discussion. Did something happen just before that is still in your head. Is there anything from the last meeting that did not feel good. Are we good to move on. The exercise is what he calls clearing the air. It is extremely powerful because friction between people from prior interactions can be resolved this easily, and if it is not, it sits underneath the meeting and distorts everything that follows. Two minutes spent here saves the next hour.

For team leaders running recurring meetings with the same group. The technique is most useful when relationships in the group are sustained over time and small frictions accumulate.

clear-the-air, meeting-openers, psychological-safety, facilitation