Take it away, Carmine Gallo:
“Schmidt kicked off meetings by asking people what they did on the weekend. If someone had returned from a trip, he’d ask for a ‘trip report.’ Sergey Brin would tell stories of his kite-boarding adventures, while others had more mundane activities, like attending a kids’ soccer game...
“Asking for trip reports served two purposes. First, it allowed team members to get to know each other on a personal level, which improved relationships. And second, it got everyone involved in the meeting right from the start — in a fun way. Later in the meeting, Google employees were expected to participate in meetings even if the issue wasn’t in their functional roles. Getting them to talk early facilitated conversation later...
“The trip report was a simple communication practice that got people to share stories and make personal connections, which lead to better decision making.
“Professor Uri Hasson's research at Princeton University shows that when people share personal stories with one another, they build stronger bonds than if they simply meet to share information. Hasson calls the effect ‘neural coupling.’ Stronger coupling improves communication between speaker and listener. Sharing personal stories — even if they don’t have anything to do with the topic of the meeting — strengthens the cognitive connections between two people, making it more likely that they’ll build rapport and work well together.
