Meetings

Tired of the same mundane meetings at work? Noticing that your employees and colleagues aren’t paying attention to what is being discussed? Sometimes they really can’t be blamed, especially if you are repeating the same format multiple times a week. This leads to complacency, and is ultimately a waste of a business’ time and resources, while also being demotivating for employees. We will look at some ideas anyone can do to freshen up their meeting experience.

Hire a storyteller

When you expect a meeting to include a bog-standard powerpoint presentation, it can be a rather nice surprise when instead an interesting storyteller turns up instead. Not only will they be much more memorable, meaning that your message is better likely retained, but it saves you the effort of conducting the actual meeting. Have the powerpoints linked to the story and the attendees can refer back to them in the future with more enjoyable memory triggers.

Icebreakers!

If your meetings involve those who have never met each other before, then you should consider starting with an icebreaker. Communication flows better once those involved have been introduced to each other and know a few basic details about each other. You may want to start by devoting a short time to introducing each other and playing some team games. This works especially well when you require a group effort in order to get work done. Physical activity can help stimulate parts of the mind that would not usually be used while the body is sedentary, so use icebreakers as a good opportunity to implement this.

Upgrade/update your meeting rooms

Sometimes the problem isn’t the the meeting itself, but it’s location. If the meeting consistently takes place in the same room, try changing up the layout according the purpose of the meetings. Changing the colour scheme of the room can affect the mood, so alternating between refreshing colours can inject some life into meetings if they start to become stale. If your rooms are slowly becoming out-of-date, upgrade some of the technology or furniture. New screens, chairs or even a conference room display system can go a long way to freshening up the whole meeting experience.

Have a new lead each time

If the same person is leading each meeting, progress can be stagnant and may not give others the opportunity to full express themselves. It is advisable that a person should only lead a handful of meetings before someone else should lead. Not only will it allow new ideas to be brought to the table, but it will also enable them to improve upon their presentation, organisation and leadership skills, which will benefit the company as a whole. Having employees with a wide range of skills and the confidence to use them can be priceless to the company, as well as improving employee morale through empowering them.