| g! That¡¦s the complaint that tops the list | | | | passion or belief in the task or goal. Enthusiasm is |
| when people talk about meetings. American | | | | contagious and engages the attention of participants. |
| businesses hold 11 million meetings a year and | | | | Use the tactics listed below to keep the meeting fresh |
| attendees agree that more than 50% of that time is | | | | and interesting. Wake people up by doing the |
| wasted. Most regular meeting attendees admit to | | | | unexpected: Meet in a restaurant instead of the |
| daydreaming (91%), missing meetings (96%), arriving | | | | conference room, play a game, switch visual media, |
| late or leaving early (95%), bringing other work with | | | | solicit audience participation, etc. |
| them (73%) or dozing off (39%). Focusing and | | | | „XFlow. Maintain continuity by sticking to your |
| maintaining your audience¡¦s attention is | | | | agenda and time frame. |
| the challenge of meeting planners the world over. It | | | | To keep meeting participants energized and engaged, |
| takes a little extra time and effort to plan a meeting | | | | try these 10 tips for holding your |
| that will hold your audience¡¦s attention | | | | audience¡¦s attention during a meeting: |
| from start to finish. | | | | 1. Use humor. Tell a joke, funny story or personal |
| To head off complaints and ensure maximum | | | | experience related to the meeting topic. Or open your |
| productivity, consider these important issues in planning | | | | presentation with an amusing slide, famous quote or |
| a meeting: | | | | cartoon. Dilbert is great for poking fun at meetings and |
| Timing is everything. Don¡¦t plan a meeting | | | | corporate life. |
| for Monday morning when people are trying to get | | | | 2. Offer refreshments. Cool, refreshing beverages |
| their head in the game, schedule their week and | | | | ¡V ice water, juice, soda, iced tea ¡V and |
| answer their emails. Avoid right after lunch when | | | | easy-to-eat salty or savory snacks can help |
| people sink into nap mode. And forget about holding a | | | | participants stay alert. |
| meeting on Friday afternoon when everyone wants to | | | | 3. Busy hands. Place small jigsaw puzzles, mini Lego |
| get out the door for the weekend. | | | | kits or tiny cans of Playdough in front of each |
| Invite the right people. Invite the people who will most | | | | participant. Some people think and concentrate better |
| benefit, those who can make real contributions and | | | | when they have something to do with their hands. |
| those with the power to make decisions. Send a | | | | Invite those who care to ¡§to |
| meeting summary to other interested parties. | | | | play¡¨ while they work. |
| Research indicates that 5 to 9 participants is the | | | | 4. Pose a question. Ask a question early in the meeting, |
| optimal number for productive discussion and | | | | but tell participants you don¡¦t want an |
| decision-making. Break larger groups into small work | | | | answer until the end. To encourage active listening, |
| groups after the initial introduction. | | | | offer a small prize (quarters for the vending machine |
| Set a specific goal. Meetings are more apt to stay on | | | | or a Starbucks coupon) for the first correct answer. |
| track when participants know exactly why the | | | | 5. Engage participants. Encourage and solicit the views |
| meeting has been scheduled and the specific goal to | | | | and discussion of all participants. Use eye contact to |
| be accomplished. Decide why you¡¦re | | | | draw people in. Toss a Nerf ball around the room. The |
| getting together. Is it to share information, brainstorm or | | | | person who catches the ball must offer a comment or |
| make a decision? Send participants an agenda prior to | | | | suggestion before tossing it to another participant. |
| the meeting so they arrive prepared. | | | | Have participants show agreement or disagreement |
| Stay on track. People lose interest when a meeting | | | | by holding thumbs-up or thumbs-down. |
| veers off-track. Stick to your agenda and meeting | | | | 6. Get personal. Credit meeting |
| timeline. Changing presentation media or tactics | | | | participant¡¦s when facts, statistics and |
| periodically will help meeting participants refocus on the | | | | ideas are presented. Encourage participants to share |
| agenda. Keep a running list of off-task ideas or | | | | ownership of the meeting by offering details of their |
| questions in a ¡§parking lot¡¨ so | | | | involvement or accomplishments. |
| you can continue with the agenda without losing useful | | | | 7. Show and tell. Use visuals to get your point across. |
| ideas that can be addressed later. | | | | Wake things up with a hands-on demonstration or |
| When people communicate, they gain 10% of the | | | | PowerPoint graphics. Use a variety of visual tactics to |
| meaning from words, 20% from delivery style and | | | | keep things fresh. |
| 70% from non-verbal cues and body language. The | | | | 8. Unlock the mystery. Abstract concepts and |
| presenter and presentation are more important than | | | | statistics can cause people¡¦s eyes to |
| the actual words in getting your message across. And | | | | glaze over. Provide an understandable comparison or |
| in our harried, multi-tasking world, attention span | | | | explain the real world implication. When possible, relate |
| isn¡¦t what it used to be. These factors | | | | the numbers to the participants¡¦ personal |
| are particularly significant given the growing number of | | | | lives. |
| businesses who are using teleconferencing and | | | | 9. Shake things up. Pop a Q&A or brainstorming |
| videoconferencing to mitigate increasing travel costs | | | | session into the middle of a discussion. Do some |
| and narrowing employee time constraints. Meeting | | | | role-playing to revitalize attention. Solicit alternative |
| planners can take a tip from television which uses the | | | | perspectives and stimulate creative thinking by passing |
| formula: tighten, dazzle and flow to rivet audience | | | | out sheets of paper on which each participant writes a |
| attention. | | | | problem or concern. Papers are passed to the right |
| „XTighten. Tighten the focus of the meeting by | | | | where the recipient has 60 seconds to write down his |
| setting just one or two goals. Tighten your delivery | | | | first thought about the problem. Continue to pass the |
| with preparation and practice. Tighten control of the | | | | papers every 60 seconds until each person gets his |
| meeting environment by optimizing room temperature, | | | | own sheet back. Invite the group to share and discuss |
| ventilation and lighting. In a recent poll, poor speaking | | | | responses. |
| skills (monotone voice, repetition, over-gesturing and | | | | 10. Snappy ending. Keep the end of the meeting from |
| buzzword overuse), lack of direction and physical | | | | getting bogged down in repetitive comments and |
| discomfort were most cited as causes for loss of | | | | summary. Give each participant a blown-up balloon. If |
| concentration during meetings. | | | | he feels someone is winding on too long, he can pop |
| „XDazzle. Be enthusiastic and share your | | | | his balloon to ¡§stop the hot air. |