Make meetings engaging from the start! (Part 2)

Recently we shared a few ideas for kicking off team meetings in an effort to make meetings enjoyable from the start. Here, we expand on these ideas with even more examples. 

Gather attendee locations. Posting a map in a physical or virtual meeting and asking people to mark where they are originally from (in physical meetings) or where they are currently at (in virtual meetings) can be a fun way to see meeting member diversity and representation. In fact, PollEverywhere offers a template for this question with both Country and World maps. If using a map is not an option, the meeting chat can also be used to gather hometown or location information. With remote meetings, similar types of questions such as “are you sitting or standing?” or “what is the floor like in your room (e.g., carpet, vinyl, tile, etc.)?” are other questions that can establish a friendly sense of presence.

Set intentions. When collaborating, groups are often more successful when they are on the same page and working towards the same goals. One way to kick off a meeting is to set the intentions of the meeting attendees by asking why everyone is in the meeting or what they hope to get out of the meeting. By checking with everyone about “what is in it for me,” meeting leaders are able to set the intentions of the room and make sure the meeting accomplishes the expectations of the group. 

Collaborative games. Collaborative games are a fun way to kick off meetings while waiting for meeting attendees to enter a physical or virtual meeting room. Collaboration technologies allow for the posting of coloring sheets, seek and finds, word searches, crossword puzzles, or Sodoku puzzles and can be colored or drawn on by all of the meeting participants. For example, Zoom offers an “annotate” feature that allows all participants to draw on the screen. Bonus points if the games are related to the meeting topic at hand!

Tell a story. Storytelling is a tool that has been found to help with engagement. Therefore, kicking off a meeting with a story can trigger attendee brains to be motivated, creative, or focused.  Stories can also help groups to feel trusting and empowered as they are about to work together. Depending on the goal of the meeting, this can be a useful tool. 

Food or refreshments. Finally, offering food or refreshments is a good way to encourage physical meeting attendance. This idea can be replicated virtually by asking people to bring their favorite snack or beverage and even asking everyone to share what they brought in the team chat or as a part of team member check ins.