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Ask HN: I have no idea what is being said in meetings?

9 points by lifeplusplus ↗ HN
In large companies' meetings I've noticed that 95% of the time I've no idea what's being said. And it never comes back to bite me. It's same people who always go on and on. In smaller companies this wasn't the case people spoke like humans and in story style... Not helped by obscure agile lingo... Instead of saying abc is gonna work on this... They'd say: xyz story is blocked and abc is going to invest in it

6 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 24.6 ms ] thread
jleyank
Some say that jargon makes the exchange of information easier by creating a common shorthand. Others say that jargon disguises the lack of information. Maybe jargon is used to create an in-group here?
hamstrung
Buzzwords and pro-language contribute to generating or sustaining hierarchies. Great read at Ribbon Farms on The Gervais Principal that goes into this in depth:

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-...

BergTheBold
This is super entertaining, but it's an analysis of a TV show, not real research. It's almost cathartic to read, though not applicable to people who actually exist.
thorin
This is kind of normal and increases as the number of people in the meeting increase. You have options, sometimes I'm very keen to understand every detail of what is being said but that can cause a lot of annoyance for the other people involved. Maybe arrange a private meeting 1:1 with one of the guys you don't understand and ask him to take you through his thinking. Sometimes you can let it go and just concentrate on the task in hand (which may only be a small part of the overall discussion). Once people have a history with a business/product/process, things can get greatly extended, but not always for the right reasons.
BergTheBold
People just talk that way to make themselves sound smarter. If it's a remote meeting, turn off your camera so they can't see you rolling your eyes.