My god, I hate Monopoly.

I remember family games lasting for hours.

My brother stacking up wads of cash like Gordon Gecko, gleefully amassing hotels on Park Lane while I languished on Old Kent Road.

These days the words ‘We’ve got a new board game – you’ll love it!’ make my blood run cold.

My eyes glaze over as instructions are described to me:

‘First you need to draw three Explorer cards. These connect to your Power Up Points, but you can only use them every other turn and if you roll a 5.’

It feels too hard. I just don’t care. I don’t have the patience.

All I want to know is this:

What’s the aim of the game?

And that’s the same with so many things in life.

We just want to know what the point is.

Where we’re all aiming for.

What the output is going to be.

It’s often glossed over. We go into discussion mode, rather than outcome mode. We get lost in frustrating back-and-forths.

So ask ‘What’s the aim of the game?’ wherever you can to help you communicate better.

In meetings

Not:

‘We’re here to discuss the budget for Project Alpha.’

But:

‘After this meeting, we’ll have decided the budget for Project Alpha.’

In reports

Not:

‘This report details the upcoming Customer Conduct regulation.’

But:

‘This report lists the steps each department needs to take over the next six months to stay out of trouble with the FCA.’

In training sessions

Not

‘In this session you’ll learn advanced Excel techniques.’

But

‘After this session you’ll be able to create budget spreadsheets in under 5 minutes.’

Will you give ‘the aim of the game’ a go?

And tell me – do you love Monopoly? Or are we friends?