| Boring! That’s the complaint that tops the list | | | | ? Dazzle. Be enthusiastic and share your passion |
| when people talk about meetings. American | | | | or belief in the task or goal. Enthusiasm is |
| businesses hold 11 million meetings a year and | | | | contagious and engages the attention of |
| attendees agree that more than 50% of that | | | | participants. Use the tactics listed below to keep |
| time is wasted. Most regular meeting attendees | | | | the meeting fresh and interesting. Wake people up |
| admit to daydreaming (91%), missing meetings | | | | by doing the unexpected: Meet in a restaurant |
| (96%), arriving late or leaving early (95%), | | | | instead of the conference room, play a game, |
| bringing other work with them (73%) or dozing | | | | switch visual media, solicit audience participation, |
| off (39%). Focusing and maintaining your | | | | etc. |
| audience’s attention is the challenge of | | | | ? Flow. Maintain continuity by sticking to your |
| meeting planners the world over. It takes a little | | | | agenda and time frame. |
| extra time and effort to plan a meeting that will | | | | To keep meeting participants energized and |
| hold your audience’s attention from start to | | | | engaged, try these 10 tips for holding your |
| finish. | | | | audience’s attention during a meeting: |
| To head off complaints and ensure maximum | | | | 1. Use humor. Tell a joke, funny story or personal |
| productivity, consider these important issues in | | | | experience related to the meeting topic. Or open |
| planning a meeting: | | | | your presentation with an amusing slide, famous |
| Timing is everything. Don’t plan a meeting for | | | | quote or cartoon. Dilbert is great for poking fun at |
| Monday morning when people are trying to get | | | | meetings and corporate life. |
| their head in the game, schedule their week and | | | | 2. Offer refreshments. Cool, refreshing beverages |
| answer their emails. Avoid right after lunch when | | | | – ice water, juice, soda, iced tea – and |
| people sink into nap mode. And forget about | | | | easy-to-eat salty or savory snacks can help |
| holding a meeting on Friday afternoon when | | | | participants stay alert. |
| everyone wants to get out the door for the | | | | 3. Busy hands. Place small jigsaw puzzles, mini |
| weekend. | | | | Lego kits or tiny cans of Playdough in front of |
| Invite the right people. Invite the people who will | | | | each participant. Some people think and |
| most benefit, those who can make real | | | | concentrate better when they have something to |
| contributions and those with the power to make | | | | do with their hands. Invite those who care to |
| decisions. Send a meeting summary to other | | | | “to play” while they work. |
| interested parties. Research indicates that 5 to 9 | | | | 4. Pose a question. Ask a question early in the |
| participants is the optimal number for productive | | | | meeting, but tell participants you don’t want |
| discussion and decision-making. Break larger | | | | an answer until the end. To encourage active |
| groups into small work groups after the initial | | | | listening, offer a small prize (quarters for the |
| introduction. | | | | vending machine or a Starbucks coupon) for the |
| Set a specific goal. Meetings are more apt to stay | | | | first correct answer. |
| on track when participants know exactly why the | | | | 5. Engage participants. Encourage and solicit the |
| meeting has been scheduled and the specific goal | | | | views and discussion of all participants. Use eye |
| to be accomplished. Decide why you’re | | | | contact to draw people in. Toss a Nerf ball around |
| getting together. Is it to share information, | | | | the room. The person who catches the ball must |
| brainstorm or make a decision? Send participants | | | | offer a comment or suggestion before tossing it |
| an agenda prior to the meeting so they arrive | | | | to another participant. Have participants show |
| prepared. | | | | agreement or disagreement by holding thumbs-up |
| Stay on track. People lose interest when a | | | | or thumbs-down. |
| meeting veers off-track. Stick to your agenda | | | | 6. Get personal. Credit meeting participant’s |
| and meeting timeline. Changing presentation media | | | | when facts, statistics and ideas are presented. |
| or tactics periodically will help meeting participants | | | | Encourage participants to share ownership of the |
| refocus on the agenda. Keep a running list of | | | | meeting by offering details of their involvement or |
| off-task ideas or questions in a “parking | | | | accomplishments. |
| lot” so you can continue with the agenda | | | | 7. Show and tell. Use visuals to get your point |
| without losing useful ideas that can be addressed | | | | across. Wake things up with a hands-on |
| later. | | | | demonstration or PowerPoint graphics. Use a |
| When people communicate, they gain 10% of the | | | | variety of visual tactics to keep things fresh. |
| meaning from words, 20% from delivery style | | | | 8. Unlock the mystery. Abstract concepts and |
| and 70% from non-verbal cues and body | | | | statistics can cause people’s eyes to glaze |
| language. The presenter and presentation are | | | | over. Provide an understandable comparison or |
| more important than the actual words in getting | | | | explain the real world implication. When possible, |
| your message across. And in our harried, | | | | relate the numbers to the participants’ |
| multi-tasking world, attention span isn’t what | | | | personal lives. |
| it used to be. These factors are particularly | | | | 9. Shake things up. Pop a Q&A or brainstorming |
| significant given the growing number of businesses | | | | session into the middle of a discussion. Do some |
| who are using teleconferencing and | | | | role-playing to revitalize attention. Solicit alternative |
| videoconferencing to mitigate increasing travel | | | | perspectives and stimulate creative thinking by |
| costs and narrowing employee time constraints. | | | | passing out sheets of paper on which each |
| Meeting planners can take a tip from television | | | | participant writes a problem or concern. Papers |
| which uses the formula: tighten, dazzle and flow | | | | are passed to the right where the recipient has |
| to rivet audience attention. | | | | 60 seconds to write down his first thought about |
| ? Tighten. Tighten the focus of the meeting by | | | | the problem. Continue to pass the papers every |
| setting just one or two goals. Tighten your | | | | 60 seconds until each person gets his own sheet |
| delivery with preparation and practice. Tighten | | | | back. Invite the group to share and discuss |
| control of the meeting environment by optimizing | | | | responses. |
| room temperature, ventilation and lighting. In a | | | | 10. Snappy ending. Keep the end of the meeting |
| recent poll, poor speaking skills (monotone voice, | | | | from getting bogged down in repetitive |
| repetition, over-gesturing and buzzword overuse), | | | | comments and summary. Give each participant a |
| lack of direction and physical discomfort were | | | | blown-up balloon. If he feels someone is winding |
| most cited as causes for loss of concentration | | | | on too long, he can pop his balloon to “stop |
| during meetings. | | | | the hot air. |