CoffeeTime Science: Why Meetings Should Also Be Fun

Serious isn’t always best for productivity

Today the coffee machine seems constipated – it’s producing the coffee in drips and spurts and making a lot of rather unseemly noises. Katja and I stare at it while it laboriously brews our next caffeine fix. “Your lab meeting was long today,” Katja observes,“did anything special happen?”

“No, just discussing lab issues, and one of the students presenting his work, with everybody giving good feedback, and several entertaining tangents along the way,” I reply.

In fact, today’s meeting, like most of them, was great. I have been fortuitous enough to have been part of a group with many very smart, very engaged people, who also like each other and indulge in some good natured jokes and banter during most meetings. This, in turn, has nurtured a relaxed, but productive atmosphere in our lab meetings where we present our data ‘warts and all’, and often have long and in-depth discussions about the methods, analyses, and bigger pictures of each presentation, providing the presenter with valuable feedback, without being unnecessarily critical or negative.

“This is exactly what lab meetings are supposed to be like,” I tell Katja, “I always look forward to lab meetings and really enjoy the discussions that come with this more informal set-up”.

Narges comes down the stairs. “And how was your meeting?” we ask in unison. From the look on Narges’ face, we can already gather what she thought of the meeting while she stares at the machine splattering out her coffee before she sits down.

“This is exactly what lab meetings are supposed to be like.”

“Ugh. It wasn’t particularly useful. The presentation was basically like a seminar, very formal, no work in progress, and no helpful or interesting discussions at all. I wish it was a little less formal, and that people would also present their methods and problems they might have, so we can help them. Also, if people present assays that haven’t worked in lab meeting, it means others don’t waste their time trying things that others already know don’t work”.

Katja and I nod in understanding. We, too have experience with meetings that are not as productive, often stifled by too much formality and presentation of ‘polished’ data, which impedes any honest and detailed discussion of the experimental set up, raw data, and trouble shooting.

“It makes you really appreciate those meetings that aren’t like that. Remember how our lab meeting helped me with my ‘boring’ data?” The ‘boring’ project was in fact not boring, but was about a dataset I had been struggling with trying to find the right angle from which to approach the analyses and narrative for the manuscript. I presented the unfinished figures and analysis approaches in lab meeting, and we had great discussions and I received lots of comments that helped me figure out the angle and write the thing up in the following two days.

“The problem is that, as soon as some people start presenting more polished data in lab meeting, others follow suit, and before you know it, you can’t tell the difference between lab meeting and the institute seminar,” Narges concludes. “It’s really up to the PI to try and maintain an informal atmosphere in lab meeting, so people feel comfortable presenting unfinished projects”.

I agree with Narges, but I also believe that it greatly depends on the people in your lab, and how well they get along. Obviously, that is not something that can be forced. However, I think that the atmosphere in the lab is equally as dependent on the PI as it is on the current configuration of group members. If people are unhappy in the lab, lab meeting is never going to be fun and productive.

“So we can conclude that happy scientists are productive scientists,” Katja deduces “So really, our coffee breaks are necessary for our productivity!” You can’t argue with that logic! Let’s have another cup, then…

My name is Christine, and I am an immunologist. After my undergraduate studies in Oxford, I moved to London for my PhD and first postdoc. After 7 years in this magnificent city, I was ready for an adventure and decided to go to Boston for a second postdoc. Six years later, I’ve made Boston my permanent home, but I am currently on an 8-month sabbatical back in London, where I am learning new things at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before returning to Boston. In addition to doing research, I write a series of blogs about conversations and discussions I have had with other scientists, with topics ranging from the inane to career goals and options, our research, new techniques and technologies and the like. I would like to share some of those topics with you in this blog. Want to join in? Grab yourself a cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage, read along, and leave comments.