The Silent Start
Most meetings fail in the first minute when the loudest voice sets the agenda. A silent start changes the dynamic entirely. Everyone thinks before anyone speaks.
Amazon's "six-page memo" gets all the attention, but the real insight is simpler: meetings start in silence.
Attendees spend the first five to ten minutes reading. No one speaks. This does three things. First, it forces the presenter to clarify their thinking in writing before the meeting (most "discussions" are really first drafts spoken aloud). Second, it gives introverts equal footing since they've processed before the extroverts start riffing. Third, it prevents anchoring. Without a silent start, the first speaker's framing dominates.
You don't need six-page memos to capture the benefit. Try this: begin your next meeting by posing the key question, then give everyone three minutes to write their response on a card or in a doc. Only then open discussion.
The hack: "Before we discuss, let's take three minutes to write down our initial thoughts." That's the whole script. The silence feels awkward exactly once. Then it becomes the norm that makes your meetings actually productive.
