Color/Advance

A Distributed Work Tool

As one of our clients said, “The goal is to get the right information to the right people at the right time.” 

But now, without all the subtle in-person cues and office chatter, how do you know what’s the right information?

One way to find the right information is to give the audience control of the information flow. That is what the “Color/Advance” technique helps you do. You say “color” if you need or want to know more, and you say “advance” if you already know the information or it is not relevant. While not appropriate for all situations, it often serves as an amazing way to speed things up and get to the right information.

“Color/Advance” can be made even better by having the audience use physical or digital signs/signals to indicate what they need. Some groups get creative with their signs and phrases, even changing the language to fun things like a Star Wars–themed “mediate/light speed” or a tech-themed “double click/ next bullet.”

Distributed meetings often need more structure and established workflow norms than in-person meetings. Furthermore, with distributed meetings you need to put the effort in to make them fun and have audience involvement. This technique helps you accomplish all those needs.

More Color on Color/Advance

For more on “Color/Advance” and other tools, see OYF’s Distributed Work Toolkit.