Internal processors need advance notice and clear agendas to focus; external processors think out loud and need live discussion. Ben Morton explains how meetings designed for one style kill focus for the other, and why brainstorming needs both types.
If you're an internal processor or thinker, the meetings that you're likely to find the most challenging are the ones that are sprung on you with little or no notice, or the ones in which there's suddenly an additional agenda item dropped in last minute, live in the meeting. These are the meetings where there isn't a clear agenda, it's not clear what the expected outcomes are. External thinkers or processors struggle in a slightly different way. Ask them to sit and look at a pre-read or to think quietly by themselves before opening it out into a general discussion can be really challenging for them. They lean naturally towards thinking out loud and talking things through in real time. So if you're trying to generate new ideas and solutions, having external thinkers in the room is really helpful.
