Chemistry meetings are a chance to learn, not perform

I had a dream about a chemistry meeting. Not ours, the other agency’s. Their Account Manager was in a garden shed, on a Zoom call. The shed was being submerged in water, while the AM thrashed about, still presenting. A demonstration of resilience and dedication, apparently.

I remember thinking: this is ridiculous. But also, weirdly familiar. Because lots of chemistry meetings veer towards performative bullshit. Agencies turning up to look like they’ve got the answer. Before they’ve even heard the question. That’s a waste of everyone’s time.

Our chemistry was going to be different. We didn’t try to guess the brief. We didn't pretend to know more than we did. Instead, we showed how we think and who we are.

We built the session around provocations: informed, slightly uncomfortable questions and themes, designed to generate a natural and interesting conversation. Not to be right, just to be relevant.

A chemistry meeting should be less like a stage, more like a school.  It’s a chance to learn something (if you stop performing and start listening). You’ll hear different takes on the same problem, or small contradictions and things that don’t quite add up. You might even hear something that no one else in the process will hear, and that’s golden.

You’re not talking at a lectern either. We pulled in various stakeholders, each with different agendas, and gave them something to react to and engage with. Our team showed up too, with more than just “here’s our best work”, but “here’s how we think.” That’s what clients are really buying after all.

You still need to bring the energy: they need to feel like you want it. But that feeling can be hidden when there’s a big showy performance in the way.

The agencies that try too hard to impress are often the least convincing. The ones who understand the room and use it to learn tend to win.