Tip

Create a visible “parking lot” space during your meeting in a shared document, whiteboard, or chat section to store off-topic but valuable ideas. When something important comes up that doesn’t fit the moment, park it. Review the list at the end to decide next steps.

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Description

Meetings often drift because interesting ideas or tangents arise at the wrong moment and once the group follows them, it’s hard to steer back. The “parking lot” technique solves this by acknowledging the idea without letting it derail the agenda. According to SessionLab’s facilitation guide, it helps teams stay focused while preserving contributions for later review.

A parking lot is simply a holding space for questions, concerns or ideas that matter but aren’t relevant right now. It is accessible to all participants so everyone can add to it. This avoids interruptions and boosts psychological safety because people feel heard. Their input isn’t ignored, just deferred.

For online meetings, the parking lot can be a simple section on a shared document, a column on a digital whiteboard, or a running list in chat. At the end, revisit each item to consciously close the loop. When the parking lot is consistently reviewed, it becomes a powerful tool for focus, trust, and follow-through.