In daily work, contact is quickly established. Meetings are scheduled, information shared, decisions made. Usually, this goes smoothly. And yet sometimes you notice that it doesn't really land. Agreements are followed, but not embraced. The same questions keep coming back, tensions remain under the radar.
Connection often does not arise from saying more, but from slowing down for a moment. By creating space for what has not yet been expressed. This does not require major interventions, but small choices.
A simple ritual can help with this. Conclude a meeting with two fixed questions:
What do you take away from this conversation?
And what do you still need to move forward?
Everyone answers briefly. There is no discussion and nothing is solved. There is only listening. Five minutes is sufficient. The effect lies not in the question itself, but in the fact that it can be asked again each time.
In practice, this proves to be just enough. In a meeting that seemed to go smoothly at first glance, these questions reveal where doubt lies, what remained unclear, or what someone needs to move forward. Not because people have to dig deep, but because there is space to name what otherwise remains unspoken.
Without such a moment of delay, discussions often remain efficient but vulnerable. Decisions are summarised, consent is assumed, and the conversation is concluded. What follows are extra emails, minor adjustments, and conversations in the corridors - essentially the discussion after the discussion.
Sometimes doubt is acknowledged, but immediately smoothed over. A quick explanation or solution follows, causing the topic to disappear from the table. What does not disappear is the feeling that it is of little use to bring it up again.
And sometimes connection is reduced to a formality.“Are there any questions?”The silence is taken as agreement. Everyone moves on, while exactly what was not said later resurfaces as resistance, delay, or disengagement.
These are not major mistakes, but small habits. They maintain contact but leave connection behind.
Connection does not require new tools or extensive processes. It requires the courage not to conclude immediately, not to solve everything, and to remain present with what is happening. Small rituals, consistently applied, often make more of a difference than grand words.
Which discussion in your week would benefit from connection if you concluded five minutes earlier and asked two extra questions?
Try this once with your team: two questions, five minutes, no solutions. See what changes.