10 Ways to Wake Up Your Next Meeting

Meetings… the scourge of the business world.

You probably spend way too much time in them.

What could you do to wake up your next meeting?

The Same Old Meeting

Let’s face it.

Most meetings are boring.

Most meetings are ill-prepared.

And most meetings are a waste of our time.

How many times have you been to the same meeting?

Everyone just waits for it to end, so that the misery can be over.

If you want to shake up your meetings, you need to try something different.

Wake Up Your Meeting!

No one likes the same old meeting.

After all, you’ve been there, done that.

If you want to spur some excitement and productivity, you need to wake up your attendees.

You need to shake things up at your next meeting.

Here are 10 Ways to Wake Up Your Next Meeting:

  1. Standing Meeting – Try a standing meeting. No, really. Everyone stands up for the duration of the meeting. If you want to have brief meetings, try this technique. It also tends to get people physically moving which brings more energy to the meeting.
  2. Absolutely No Electronics – Check the gadgets at the door. All electronics. We’re not buying the, “I use it to take notes” line. If they can’t check it, they have to excuse themselves from the meeting. It’s amazing how much more involved people are when they are disarmed of their gadgets.
  3. Start with a Pop Quiz –  This one will wake them up!. OK, I’ll admit, this technique usually ruffles some feathers. Start your meeting with a pop-quiz on the material to be discussed. Those who did not prepare, those who did not read the documents, are not going to be too happy. But, it might just make a point. Why spend the time of everyone in the room, if half of the people don’t have a clue? Keep this one light-hearted, so as not to embarrass anyone. The point is to be prepared as a team.
  4. Start on Time, End on Time – What times does your meeting actually start? When I worked at a Fortune 15 company, we had a meeting that was called the “9:15” meeting. Why? Because the 9AM meeting always started late. Start your meeting on time no matter what. No matter who is late. No matter what materials aren’t ready. No matter who is getting coffee. Same for the ending, end no matter what. No “One More Things,” no filibusters, no “just a minute.” It’s over.
  5. Buzz Outside Topics – This one can be fun with a table buzzer, but you don’t need outside props. Basically, any time someone tries to take the meeting off-agenda, anyone in the group can “buzz” them. The outside topics are tabled for future discussion or meetings. This technique is particular effective if you have someone who likes to hijack meetings. It can also be fun when junior attendees “buzz” executives who want to tell a non-related story.
  6. Cut the Meeting In Half – Announce at the outset, that the meeting has been “Cut in half.” Set a timer for half of the time that was allotted. When the timer goes off, the meeting is over. No excuses. You may find that this becomes a popular technique in your workplace.
  7. Role Reversal – Want to flip your next meeting? Allow the most junior attendee to lead the meeting. This is meant to bring a different perspective to the meeting. And it provides the junior employee the chance to lead and learn from the experience.
  8. Crazy Location – Instead of “Conference Room #2, try “Picnic Table #2” out back. It’s amazing what a simply change of venue can do for your team. By the way, if your meetings are always more productive outside, you might want to examine the conditions of your meeting rooms.
  9. Not the Usual Suspects – Instead of inviting the same people to the same meeting, invite an outsider. You just might be surprised what input you get from an attendee outside your normal circle.
  10. Get Some Answers in Advance – Have the decisions to be made in the meeting written on the board before attendees arrive. Prior to any discussion, each person has to write their answer on a Post-It note and place it next to each question. This is also a great technique for getting the opinions of individuals that typically don’t speak up during a meeting.

Shake Things Up

Instead of holding the same boring meeting, try shaking things up.

If you want different results, you have to do things differently.

Try one of these meeting techniques today, and you just might wake up your team.

Question: What are your best methods for waking up your meetings?

6 thoughts on “10 Ways to Wake Up Your Next Meeting

  1. Fantastic topic! I have one of ‘those’ meetings tomorrow and will try to cut it in half. It is such a simple idea, but so clever because most meetings are half fluff anyway. By announcing we only have half of the time to discuss the agenda, people should get more involved and more engaged (as they know they won’t have to suffer for a whole hour). Thanks for the tips!

  2. Craig – love the article. A someone who runs a lot of classes and facilitates meetings I have been getting resistance lately on the “I use it (an iPad) to take notes”. SO now I respond with – “That’s OK – but I need you to pinky swear you have turned the wireless access off.” That seems to work pretty well.

    1. Yeah. I am still not fully bought into the electronic note taking yet.
      I happened to walk up behind a colleague the other day and they were doodling on their iPad during the meeting.
      Times don’t change. 😛

  3. I agree! Such a fabulous read indeed. We knew most of the meeting have become boring due to several reasons. Such kind of things will definitely make your boring meetings more interesting.

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