In her upcoming book, “Life In Five Senses…” Jennifer Rubin wisely suggests that we adopt friendly “let’s change the topic” codes for times when a discussion has gone on perhaps a bit too long.
To Jennifer’s point, here are two that I was taught eons ago, both of which have served well in (mostly) work settings:
- PAC – An acronym for “Point Absolutely Clear.” Meaning exactly what it suggests, its use announces that we’re on the verge of over-extracting value from a particular thought, and suggests that we move the conversation forward.
- Gong! (a little stronger than PAC) Originating from a mid-70’s NBC television show (The Gong Show), my office conference area is equipped with a real, miniature, functioning gong, available for general use, to suggest loudly (but still with a smile) that an idea is a non-starter. If the gong had a Delta frequent flyer account, it would be a “Million Miler” as it has productively attended a lot of meetings.
Find something that works for you/your team, and have the courage to use it.
