We all love a good takeaway! Australians love takeaway and many of us do it every week but in this blog I’m not talking about the 2 billion food industry but the takeaway we get from a training day or a meeting.
So what is a takeaway?
Definitions include:
♦ a conclusion to be made based on presented facts or information
♦ a main point or key message to be learned or understood from something experienced or observed
At the conclusion of the ACMN’s training day (Distinctively Different – Christian mentoring in a Fragmented World) earlier this month participants were asked to name their 3 takeaways from the day and this word cloud was the result. The bigger the font size the more times it was mentioned.
What do we notice about this word cloud?
There are only a few words that were submitted multiple times. Most participants got something different and unique for them out of the sessions presented. Takeaways can be very individual and unique to where you are at, at the time.
Like our takeaway food preferences, we like different things; our tastes and cravings or longing for something can change. We might taste something and never go back to it, or we will love it so much that we keep going for more. We might even replay it over and over it in our mind and share the experience with others.
As a visual learner I love a word picture that helps draw the points and conclusions from a session, a quick reference point or reminder helps me retain things I want or need to remember.
A meeting takeaway could be described as: the key information or insights you gain from attending a meeting, including action items, decisions, or commitments moving forward. These takeaways help everyone stay on track. They need to be simple and not complex so they can be readily recalled.
How are you using, or could you be using, takeaways to the best effect in your mentoring, meetings and/or training?
Here are a few reasons why meeting takeaways are important:
- they hold people accountable for their commitments and provide a reference point for tracking progress.
- they serve as a reminder of the discussion and what each person is responsible for.
- they help the individual or the team move forward toward their goals.
A leadership saying that comes to mind on this topic is – “you need to connect activity with purpose”.
At the conclusion of your next mentoring session think about what will best assist your mentoree to “takeaway”.
– Angela Jolly
PS: FYI because you were wondering and no real surprises here: The top 5 Takeaway meals in Australia are: Mc Donalds, KFC, Hungry Jacks, Subway and Dominoes pizza! However, I prefer a Thai green curry myself.