Don’t Settle for Boring Meetings—Shake Things up in Your Meeting and Conference Room
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who sincerely claims to love meetings, but they’re a necessity in most work settings. Meetings can often feel like a dull waste of time, but face-to-face interaction and discussion is usually more efficient than sending countless e-mails. Meetings are here to stay, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t shake yours up a little. From creative conference facilities to incorporating fun and games, here are some great tips to help you host a meeting that holds everyone’s interest:
Change Up the Location
This may not work if your meeting has 50 attendees, but for smaller meetings, there’s no need to be chained to your usual meeting and conference room. A change of scenery can increase productivity and yield better results, so why not take advantage of alternate conference facilities? For you, this may mean choosing a room with more natural sunlight, taking a walk with co-workers, or grabbing a latte at a nearby coffee shop.
Get out of Your Seat
If completely opting out of your meeting and conference room isn’t an option, make sure that you and your meeting participants are free to move around and get out of your seats throughout the meeting. This can mean allowing co-workers to grab a marker and take notes on a whiteboard, or maybe incorporating regular activity breaks throughout the meeting.
Make a Game of It
As your co-workers enter the conference facilities, let them know that there will be a twist to this meeting. As the meeting wraps up, hold a quiz with questions relating to the action items discussed, and hand out prizes to the winners. This will encourage everyone in attendance to pay close attention, and to take extremely detailed notes.
Entertain Participants
If your meeting and conference room is equipped with a television or large computer monitor, take advantage of these tools. Consider kicking your meeting off with a funny video clip that ties into the theme or discussion topic of the meeting. This will immediately grab the attention of your participants, and has the potential to inspire some stimulating discussions.
Bring in an Outsider
There’s no reason to treat your conference facilities like an exclusive club. Invite special guests to your meeting to lead a discussion or brainstorming session. Not only will this provide a sometimes much-needed outside perspective, it will inspire your employees and shake things up.
Now you know that simply having a conversation in a meeting and conference room does not a meeting make. Incorporating one or all of the above tips will ensure that your next meeting is not only productive, but captivating as well.
