How to Set Effective Context for Any Conversation (and Why You Might Want to) — the Short Version

This is a simplified version of how to set effective context for any meeting, work session, or conversation. The formula is basically the same no matter whether it’s a challenging/sensitive conversation or not.

First, the reasons to set effective context include:

a) It sets up the people you’re speaking or meeting with to be aligned around goals or outcomes, as well as to be listening to the conversation with those outcomes in mind.

b) Similar to (a), but particularly for sensitive/challenging conversations: people are likely to become upset or defensive if they’re oriented to some shared value in having the conversation — and toward a possible outcome that’s good news for everyone.

c) It establishes a guideline for what it means to stay on task or topic. This is particularly useful for meetings or work sessions: it’s a lot easier to redirect the conversation to get ‘back on track’ when you’ve previously established what ‘on track’ is.

Okay, on to the steps for setting effective context:

1. Include a headline of what you want to talk about, e.g.

• ‘Okay, so we’re here to…’
• ‘I’m interesting in a conversation about…’

2. Include why you want to talk about it, preferably referencing something the other person(s) care about, not just something that’s good for you, e.g.

• ‘… so that we can make a decision on this term sheet and get back to them this week’
• ‘… because I think it would help us to work together better in general’

3. Get some kind of consent or buy-in, even if it’s quick and informal, e.g.

• ‘That sound right to you guys?’
• ‘Sound good?’
• ‘You up for that?’

Note that all of these can take place inside of a minute, and often inside of a sentence or two: “Hey, you up for a quick conversation to debrief last night’s event? I think it’d help us to align around next steps with those guys. Sound good?”

That’s it. Feel free to let me know how it goes with an email or a comment below.

And if you found this useful, you might like to learn more about The Power of Context as described by Michael Porcelli, one of my co-founding partners in Bedrock Culture and Leadership.