The Tyranny of the Meeting

Specialists assure us that human beings are, by their very nature, predisposed towards face-to-face interaction. Yet does that biological imperative truly necessitate convening every discussion in person? Pose that question to a sales team that has spent the morning (17) .......... trudging through yet another compulsory teambuilding workshop, and their response is scarcely likely to be in the (18) .......... . Unless one is employed by a micro-enterprise or is blessed with an (19) .......... elevated tolerance for tedium, the probability is that one squanders considerably more time in meeting rooms than any rational schedule would warrant. One celebrated executive, Archie Norman, resolved to express (20) .......... with his customers waiting at the checkout by holding all management briefings standing upright. Is electronic correspondence a credible (21) .......... ? As a vehicle for disseminating information it is undeniably potent, yet as a surrogate for genuine dialogue it is fatally compromised. Language in isolation breeds misunderstanding. We harbour a wealth of latent (22) .......... that can be sparked quite inadvertently by a carelessly phrased message. Moreover, there exists a discernible (23) .......... among certain individuals to deploy email precisely in order to sidestep authentic encounters, unwilling as they are to be (24) .......... with the discomfort inherent in true human exchange.