Boring Meetings?

We've all been there at THOSE meetings - the ones that seem to go on endlessly and occur altogether too often. Just the mention of a meeting makes many of us roll our eyes…

But meetings can actually be valuable opportunities to create engagement in your team. Rather than just a download of information, you might think of team meetings instead as a way to create dynamism and participation in a group, as well as share important need-to-know information.

Here are some concrete ideas for how to make meetings into events that people WANT to attend!

Agenda

It's important to structure a meeting well so that there is enough time and space not only to cover important topics, but also for participation. Create an agenda and let people add items to it before it is formalized, if appropriate. Send it around the day before the meeting with a short note perhaps, to explain why certain items didn't make it onto the agenda. Review the agenda at the start of the meeting. 

Check-in

Start the meeting with a check-in - a quick go around the table (so everyone gets to speak) with a question like “how are you coming in today” or something fun like “share a metaphor for what your day has been like so far.” A brief check-in like this can be fun and create good feelings. Be inventive and think of fun questions, but be careful not to put people in  the spot by expecting them to share intimate facts about themselves.

Norms

A great activity to do within a meeting is the creation of a set of agreed upon group norms that address interactions and behaviour in the meeting. At the same time, you can present the expectations you, as the leader, have for appropriate behaviour that are not negotiable (such as overtalking others, disrespect, microaggressions, etc.). Some of these will be organizational expectations and some might be you setting boundaries and expectations for team interactions. Review the norms for team meetings and ask at the beginning of the meeting if anyone has norms they would like to add.

Structure

Structure the time for both sharing of necessary  information and questions, comments, or discussion. When we invite participation in meetings, we need to ensure that there is enough time for everyone to speak.

Sometimes we will have to deliver unpleasant news in a meeting. Try to allow time for people to react and express difficult feelings (respectfully of course). As a leader - you know that being as transparent and honest as possible can change the way people experience difficult things. Knowing you are not dumping bad news on them and running off goes a long way.

Keep people in the loop!

If it is appropriate, a quick round the table is helpful to let people know what everyone else in the team is working on. This goes a long way toward making people feel valued, preventing duplication of errors, and generally improving communication in a team and throughout the whole organization.

Learning organization

Consider a short presentation or a learning moment of some kind - either by you, a team member, or an outside expert. It is a great way to illustrate that you prioritize learning together. It could be introducing a new platform or technology, a review of a recent project (what did we learn, what did we do well, and what will we do better next time), time management or communication skills, coaching principles, and so on. The sky's the limit!

End it right

All meetings should finish with a quick one-minute checkout like “how are you leaving”, or “what are you taking away with you”, etc.

A general note of caution

To ensure a sense of inclusion in meetings, prevent over-talking and interrupting. Limit people’s time to speak. Clarify how much time there is a for people to speak up, so that everyone knows their remarks should be limited. If necessary you can time people or introduce a talking object of some type.

Be aware of those who remain silent. Silence is not consent in a meeting. Taking time to hear from everyone may require patience and prompting, but when people know that you value hearing from them, eventually they will speak up.

Last note

Consider letting others chair the meetings, at least from time to time. Some organizations have a schedule of rotating chairs so that everyone learns how to run a meeting.

When they experience your meeting wizardry, people in your organization or team will be surprised, engaged, and very happy to come to meetings! And if you want to really up your game, bring snacks!

🪄 Meeting Magic Checklist

1. Agenda – Share in advance and invite input.

2. Check-in – Quick round to connect the group’s energy.

3. Norms – Revisit shared agreements for participation and respect.

4. Structure – Balance information sharing, discussion, and decisions.

5. Learning Moment – End or include a short learning share or reflection.

6. Checkout – Quick closing round (“What are you taking away?”).