Running Excellent Retrospectives: Talking with People

How many awful meetings have you been to in your life, where people are talking forever and saying nothing, or where people are talking at cross purposes and not listening, or where they're saying things that make everyone feel bad? Have you been in retrospectives like that? (Did it make you never want to attend a retrospective again?)

Let's do better! Come learn practical techniques for facilitating pleasant, productive, welcoming retrospectives (which will improve any meeting you attend). We will talk about the structure of welcoming language and discuss when it's necessary to interrupt someone. We'll examine what it means for language to include blame and how to reframe blaming conversations. We'll practice the mental work of understanding things that seem contrafactual but are actually just confusing. When you leave, you'll be ready to make any meeting or retrospective you're in more comfortable and effective.