Brian from IT is at Sarah’s desk, attempting to get her back into her email. “What’s going on with your outfit?” he asks.
“Excuse me?” Sarah arches an eyebrow.
“Your outfit. If you wear denim pants, you should always wear a denim shirt to match.”
Ah, Brian. He has just unleashed a hot take that will change the trajectory of Sarah’s day. Now everyone in the office will have to weigh in on whether or not denim-on-denim is even allowed, let alone expected.
Let’s face it, Brian is going to lose this one. But his appreciation for the Canadian tuxedo has unintentionally led to a great team-building activity.
Hot takes are great for friendly, funny debates that familiarize us with our coworkers’ personalities and preferences. We bond over common ground or learn how to better stand our ground.
Today, HeyTaco is looking at hot takes–examples, what it means, and some suggestions for your next meeting.
Hot takes are funny, thought-provoking, or controversial opinions. People will be split on whether or not they agree, but there’s rarely a right answer. This is why they make for an engaging discussion or debate.
Cold or lukewarm takes are things most people agree on that probably aren’t worth discussing. “Traffic is annoying!” is a cold take. “I love traffic, it’s nice to unwind and relax during my commute,” on the other hand, is a flaming hot take.
Sure, within reason. We’ll share tips on that later. Hot takes, topics unrelated to work, or “gray area” discussions are great for camaraderie and strong communication. This is especially important in the modern age of hybrid and remote work.
It’s tougher to connect as a team these days. We need more chances to appreciate each other as thinking, feeling humans with unique perspectives. It’s also good for blowing off a little steam or filling the silence between tasks. Team leads and management also use these to help employees find their voices during meetings.
Ready to assert your point of view, no matter how spicy (or flat-out inflammatory) it may be? Let’s get the ball rolling with our favorite taco hot takes.
Want to make them say, “You’ll never believe what this lady at work said today” over dinner? Type one of these hot takes into the team chat.
Opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has them and some really stick out. If you’re a little concerned at how easily your coworkers agree with one another, stir the pot with one of these.
Make hot takes a game with questions sure to unearth a difference in opinion. Separate into teams based on which position they take and debate it until the winner is clear.
Hot takes are supposed to be fun and/or mentally stimulating. If anyone gets angry or feels hurt, it wasn’t done correctly.
A lot of us really feel we know the people at our companies. We have established rapport, hung out at happy hour–we may have even met their families. However, decades of behavioral research can’t be wrong.
Hot takes should not focus on the following:
Nuance and intention matter, and there will be gray areas–that’s the nature of hot takes. Always use your best judgment.
BONUS: Is your hot take too niche? If you’re the only bird watcher on the team, “I don’t think the song of the willow warbler is all that great,” isn’t going to ruffle any feathers.
Try sticking to hot takes topics your audience would be familiar with.
How do hot takes fit into your employee recognition program?
Keep employees connected with more team chat features that make peer recognition frequent and meaningful.
With HeyTaco, you can reward great takes with virtual tacos or other exclusive stickers. It makes positive interactions with coworkers easy and habitual–even if they’ll never agree that spaghetti is Chinese food.
Check the leaderboards to see who’s giving and receiving the most tacos. Users will enjoy climbing levels to unlock new Tacotars and rewards, while companies will enjoy seeing the results of their engagement efforts unfold on the analytics dashboard.
Learn more about how HeyTaco increases peer recognition and employee engagement and get 30 days free on us.