Drop empty talk at meetings

A meeting should be concrete in content, as empty talk only drives participants to sleep, says an article in China Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

It is reported that many participants slept during a recent meeting in Hengyang city in Hunan province to mark the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening up.

It is not an unusual phenomenon. Speakers give long speeches full of empty talk and listeners have nothing else to do but doze off.

Of course, there are ways to deal with this phenomenon. First, hollow words and stereotyped expressions should be discarded in a meeting. Second, the way that such meetings are organized can be reformed. There should be a time limit for each speaker. They should stand while delivering their speeches. Q&A sessions and interactive discussions can follow. It can ensure the high proficiency that is requested in such meetings.

Many officials are fully aware of all these maladies, and they also know how to organize efficient meetings. But why is such practice of having meaningful meetings not well accepted in Chinese officialdom? The most important reason is many of the things said by the speakers are meant not for the listeners who are present, but for the superiors who are not present. They want to show their loyalty to their bosses with nonsense, clichs and empty words without taking the audience into consideration.

(China Daily 12/25/2008 page8)