We’ve all done it: glancing at the clock, hoping the meeting will soon be over. No energy, no structure, no goals…but it’s not hopeless! Several simple techniques can help you capture interest and make your work meetings more entertaining. Read on for the action plan we’ve made for you: 4 ideas of games you can run in-person or online to make your meetings more productive.
Game 1: Secret Story, the perfect ice breaker
Are you running a meeting for participants who don’t know one another well, or at all? You’ll probably need an effective strategy for breaking the ice. Never fear! The Secret Story is here.
It’s simple: in a meeting room or through computer screens, kick the meeting off by asking participants to write down a story that happened to them. Next, go around the table. The other members have to try to match each story up with its author. Questions will be flowing one after the other, greatly encouraging discussion and input for the rest of the meeting.
On top of getting your meetings rolling, Secret Story can also be a valuable addition to your list of team building tools. Two birds with one stone!
Game 2: Pecha Kucha, the key to presentations that are more to the point
There’s nothing quite like a PowerPoint presentation to kill a meeting’s productivity. An unfortunate truth that the Pecha Kucha method can solve!
The premise of this format is to improve speaking during presentations by following a strict 20-slide structure, with 20 seconds per slide. That’s a 6 minute and 40 second presentation.
Using this fast-paced format, your team has no choice but to craft its message to be concise and to the point. A tricky communication exercise, to be sure, but it’s very successful in upping the impact of your presentations.
Game 3: Film Critic, to express your state of mind
The goal of the ‘film critic’ activity is to help participants express their emotions at a specific time, whether about their attitude to the work in general or to a particular project.
To set it up, ask each member of the team to express their mood through a film title. You can provide a list of titles to provide direction for answers or leave it up to the creativity of group members.
Indiana Jones, Love Actually or even Into the Wild – the chosen films are sure to capture how your team feels in a light-hearted and often humorous way.
Game 4: Cross-Sketches, tackling sensitive topics head on
The Cross-Sketches technique is designed to encourage creativity. But that’s not all. Most importantly, it helps break the silence in your meetings, even on sensitive topics.
Ask the members of your team to draw their thoughts on the subject at hand. Next, present each drawing to the other participants, and ask them to interpret the message the picture is meant to convey. Under the guise of someone else’s drawing, this activity reveals issues that your staff wouldn’t have had the courage to mention in their own name.
This makes Cross-Sketches one of the most effective techniques for getting people to speak up when you’re running a meeting. The exercise will inevitably unearth valuable unspoken insights that will help your company move forward.
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Including games in your meetings can help you accomplish a number of goals: speeding up your meetings, boosting productivity, unleashing creativity, uniting your teams and more.
If you’re short on ideas, Beekast has plenty of meeting templates for you to build on. As the facilitator, all you have to do is set your objectives and choose the game that seems best. Your turn!
Want to take it a step further and dramatically revamp your meetings?
