Pick the meeting you are trapped in, print the card, and mark a square every time somebody says it out loud. Five in a row and you are allowed to leave. You will not be allowed to leave.
Nothing is saved and nothing is sent anywhere. Refresh and the evidence is gone.
House rules
- One square per phrase, per meeting. Somebody saying “circle back” four times is one square and a cry for help.
- The centre square is free, because the meeting was always going to happen.
- Paraphrases count. Intent counts. Tone counts.
- Do not read the card out loud. That is how bingo becomes a performance review.
If the card fills up too fast
These are the meetings, written out at length. Same jokes, more words, no squares to mark.
- The kick-off meeting that should have been an email
- Reply All: where productivity goes to die
- “Let’s circle back” and the phrases that mean nothing
- “Can you just”: the most expensive phrase in creative work
- The quick chat that devoured the afternoon
- The pre-meeting before the meeting
- The all-hands where information goes to die
- The mandatory team-building offsite
Or say it without saying it
We make a travel mug that gets the point across before the meeting starts: This Meeting Could’ve Been a GIF. It is the only card square you can drink out of.
Spanish speaker? The card also exists in Spanish: Bingo de Reuniones.