5 Ways to Make Business Meetings More Fun and Productive

Karleia Steiner

August 25, 2014

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Meetings. They are the bane of every employee. Often taken as naptime or doodle time, no one enjoys sitting in a crowded conference room listening to the boss drone on for hours about things that don’t really affect them. Break away from this drudgery and start keeping your employees actively invested with these five tips.

Socialize

All day they have been sitting at their desks in front of a computer screen working, rarely spending more than a few minutes to chat with a coworker. They go from the dead zone of the computer to the dead zone of the conference room never waking up. Get them active and engaged by making the first 15 minutes social time. This gets them moving and invested in one another, meaning you’ll have an awake audience.

Time Keeper

Everyone knows that meetings always go over. Prevent this by employing a time keeper who tracks how long each topic goes on. As soon as the time is up, the topic changes, regardless of where the discussion leaves off. This will train everyone that time is valuable, cutting down the length of petty squabbles and high verbosity.

Change Places

For more important meetings, plan an off-site adventure. Places like Monte Carlo Inns invigorates and stimulates the brain by making the employees feel they are appreciated by being rewarded with a destination meeting. This communicates to them that you value their time.

Meeting Massage

Hire a professional masseuse to give back and neck rubs for a limited time to each attendee. This works well as an appreciative gesture but will also ensure an almost complete attendance rate as everyone will want to participate.

Scheduled Breaks

The brain can only listen for so long, so it is important to give everyone time to recharge. Either between topics or after a set amount of time, let everyone take a 10 minute break to get up and walk around, socialize or even grab a quick snack. This will help maintain focus as you try to plow through duller topics.

From socialization to appreciation, meetings don’t have to be incredibly long and incredibly boring. If you’re looking for a way to increase attendance and keep your employees interested, treat them how you would want to be treated. By allowing them to relax and not taking the event so seriously, you’ll find that ideas flow better and people pay a lot more attention.