6 Ideas on How to Make Meetings Fun

Staff meetings are essential for moving your company forward. They are a good way to share information with employees. This setting allows coworkers to talk about performance and solve problems. A meeting also provides the forum for planning projects. The issue with staff meetings is that they are not always engaging or fun for employees. Meetings aren’t at the top of everyone’s list of things they want to do, but making meetings fun can improve team morale, and actually improve productivity.

Unfortunately, many meetings are considered wasteful meetings and are likely boring for employees. To improve meeting culture, consider planning interactive activities, games as a way to have more fun in meetings. Read our tips on how to make meetings fun and engaging for your staff:

1. Start a meeting on a fun note
2. Choose a great timing
3. Discuss fun meeting ideas
4. Using rewards
5. Gamification
6. Change the meeting venues
7. Keep meetings short

There are many fun ways to start the meeting, even if it’s only a 5-minute activity. Having fun at the beginning of a meeting can help lighten the mood of a meeting that might otherwise be boring and serious. Here a few fun ways to open a meeting:

Ice Breakers

Using ice breakers is a great way to start a meeting on a fun note. With ice breakers, you get the chance to know the members of your team better.  Embrace the ice breakers and have some fun! 

• Break off into pairs or small groups and ask ice breaker questions to get to know people
• Two truths and a lie – guess which statements about a person are true and which one is the lie.
• Share a funny photo – this one works particularly well with virtual meetings – share a funny photo and explain what the photo is and the story behind it. 
• Take a fun online quiz (for instance, Buzzfeed)

Play a Short Team-Building Game

Another fun way to open a meeting is to get people to play a short game! This will help team members take their mind of the 

• Scavenger hunt – set up a scavenger hunt around the office.
• Charades – play a quick game of charades before your meeting starts.
• Trivia – break off into teams and host a trivia game at work.
• Marshmallow challenge – To play this game, get into groups of three or four and give each group 20 sticks of dry spaghetti, a long piece of string, some tape, and a marshmallow. The goal of the game is to see which team can build the tallest structure with the marshmallow on top of the finished product. 

Timing is everything when it comes to office meetings. Do not make the mistake of having a meeting when your employees are least productive. It causes your company to waste time and lose money. Fun meetings start with scheduling it for the right time. You must choose a day of the week and the time of day.

Avoid Mondays & Fridays

Mondays and Fridays are not good days for meetings. Many people use these days to get a three-day weekend. This leaves Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The next thing to consider is the time of day.

Choose a Time When Employees Are Alert

You want to choose a time when employees are alert. Some employees do not like afternoon meetings. After lunch, employees tend to get bored and tired easily. They are just ready to go home. This leaves mornings as the best time to have meetings.

Consider Scheduling for Mornings

Mornings are a good time for a variety of reasons. Most people are ready to start their day. They want to get as much work done before lunch.

You should not have a staff meeting to start the day. It should start about an hour and a half after everyone gets to work. You want to give everyone time to settle into work before conducting the meeting. Some people are still sleepy after arriving at their job. On the other hand, others are not morning people and may come off as grumpy.

You can make a morning meeting fun by providing snacks. It is affordable to keep it simple with donuts and coffee. Coffee can also help with waking up your coworkers. The snacks also work as an incentive.

A quick breakfast is one of the fun ways to start a meeting. It also gives your coworkers something to look forward to. Meeting hosts must find a time and day in which all employees are available.

Staff meetings can feel stiff and uptight. It is common for employees to think the topics are boring. They may even get called out about their work performance. It is important that your employees feel relaxed and calm.

Add some fun topics to the meeting agenda

The purpose of a meeting is to talk about the happenings within the organization. However, you want to mix in some fun staff meeting ideas. Discussing the budget is important. It is also appealing to talk about birthdays for the month. Add some non-work-related topics to the meeting agenda.

Share Something Positive

Staff meetings should be set up for success. You should start the meeting by talking about something positive. This positive can be big or small. If a project was successful, then announce it at the start of the meeting. An alternative is to celebrate an employee who has performed well.

Announcing a positive for the company sets the tone of the meeting. It makes your employees feel better about the meeting. The positivity also motivates employees to participate.

Stand Up Meeting

Asking your employees to stand up is a way to make your meeting more engaging and lively. Your employees will find it funny to have the entire meeting standing up. It allows for stretching your legs and gets your blood flowing.

Standing is one way to create more productive meetings. It gets more people to participate because of being hands-on. This activity is only one way to have fun. Other fun meeting topics include:

Most employees want to learn and gain experience. They attend college to obtain a career. After joining the workforce, people continued to further their education. Your employee is doing what he or she needs to be the best. Employees want recognition and success.

How to make meetings more fun, people think of implementing reward systems. But we don’t speak money here! You can turn boring training materials into a competition. A friendly competition will get employees to perform and engage. Here are the steps to implement a reward system.

Decide on a Competition

Decide on what your employees are competing for. If you run a call system, then give a reward for the number of outbound calls made. Employees will compete to make the most calls.

If your job requires auditing, then give a reward for the best accuracy rating. You must use creativity while turning competition into a game. It also helps to make clear goals and rewards.

Next, you must decide on the length of the competition. Do you want to run it quarterly or weekly? The time frame depends on:

It is ideal for your competition to be monthly. Your employees have something to look forward to each month.

Choose a Reward

Choosing the rewards is the last step. You must consider what rewards will create competition. It has to be something to keep employees excited and to engage. For example, employees can get a free hour to leave work early. Free leave time is always a hit. It allows your employees to leave work without using paid time.

A gift card is another reward to consider. It can be a gift card to the employee’s favorite restaurant. Most people enjoy getting a free meal. Choosing your rewards depends on your budget and what your employees like. It is in the best interest of your company to give opportunities to employees.

A reward system is one of the more creative meeting ideas. You can find out about progress during the meetings. Meetings can also be used to give out rewards. Rewards are a fun way to motivate employees about meetings.

Don’t be so serious! Coworkers must enjoy being around each other. It is important for getting the most out of them. Meetings are also important for getting your employees to work together. They boost morale and unite employees as well. Playing a game is a fun way to get employees to engage. It is one of those fun activities to start a meeting or use it as a break.

The unexpected is a good way to make things fun – and challenge your staff to break out of the everyday routines and get the creative juices flowing. A boardroom is common place for office meetings. You can keep your employees guessing by changing the meeting venue. For example, the meeting can be held outside under a tree.

An outdoor meeting allows your employees to get some sun. They also can stretch their legs. Changing the venue does not always mean leaving the building. You can have the meeting in another room in your office. Other venues to consider:

Stay On-Time and Organized

It helps to show up on time and organized. You should write down a list of topics to cover. It is not good to go off-topic or on a rant.

Make Meetings Purposeful

A meeting that drags on without a sense of direction creates boredom. Your employees are going to become disengaged. They will stop paying attention to what you are saying.

You can keep the meeting fun by being direct. Meeting hosts must be efficient with their time. Keeping meetings at 30 minutes can stop boredom. If you can let employees leave early, then you should do so.

Use a Software to Help with Productivity

Companies must have staff meetings. They encourage the development of team building. Coworkers can use meetings to discuss how to run the company. However, utilizing tools can make a difference. They can make boring meetings more work effective.

Tools for meetings offer a variety of possibilities. They offer features like:

All of this (and more) you can achieve with yoyomeeting – the Microsoft meeting management software for Outlook! Yoyomeeting helps you manage all phases of your business meetings, including meeting planning, meeting recording, and meeting recaps. Get your 2-week free trial here.

After implementing tools like ours, meetings can become effective working sessions. A setting where you can make good decisions. Your coworkers will become engaged. They also will leave with a sense of purpose.

If your employees are not mentally present, then you cannot create a successful work environment. Supervisors must play a role in dissolving conflict. It leads to employees not wanting to participate in-office meetings. The fun in meetings starts with harmony in the workplace.

In addition to our tips on how to have more fun in meetings, we offer a lot more on meeting management with hacks on how to improve your meeting culture.

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