6 Out of the Box Meeting Ideas Your Team Will Love
Meetings are the bane of every office worker’s existence. Whether you’re a manager or an employee, you’ve probably spent way too much time in meetings that were either boring, unproductive, or both. But don’t worry, we’re here to help! We’ve got 6 out-of-the-box meeting ideas that will keep your team engaged and excited about the next meeting.
So, whether you’re looking for a new way to kick off your morning meeting or trying to spice things up at lunchtime, read on and see what you can do to keep things fresh and fun.
Out-of-the-box ideas for a Meeting
1. Open the Meeting with an Icebreaker
A fun way to get a meeting off to a good start is to open it with an icebreaker activity. An icebreaker activity encourages your team get into an energised and positive mood. Playing an icebreaker gets people laughing and helps them loosen up, and it’s a great team-bonding activity as well.
What would be a good icebreaker for your team?
Office Trivia
A light game that can consist of 3 to 5 questions about your team, your office, or your company. If you give a small prize to the winner, we can guarantee the meeting attendance will always be 100%. If you and your team have regular get-togethers, you may gather points throughout the month and announce the winner on the first day of the next month. You can use tools such as Kahoot if you’re playing with a remote team.
Scavenger Hunt
There are many ways to incorporate this game into your meeting. You can ask the attendees to retrieve some objects (that you have previously hidden) from around the office that will later be used during the meeting. Or you can prepare a worksheet with key phrases that the participants will need to fill in during the meeting.
Two Truths, One Lie
A simple game that can be played without further preparation. Each participant has to share two truths about themselves and one lie. Then everyone guesses which is which. It’s a good game to play within new teams that might need some team bonding. Although, it’s best to be mindful of who’s on your team, as the game might take an unexpected turn.
We Are Alike
An effective ice breaker that can serve as an out-of-the-box idea for your meeting. Before it starts, ask the participants to find at least two or three (depending on how much time you’ll have for the activity) common things with other attendees of the meeting. By playing this game, you help your coworkers bond and build a stronger team. For you, you get to learn something new about your employees that can be useful in the future.
2. Have a Walking Meeting
If you’re looking for a way to boost your team’s productivity and creativity, adding a walking meeting to your schedule once or twice a week may be just what your team needs. Why are they a good idea?
- They’re studies approved – Studies have shown that during walking meetings, attendees are more relaxed and creative. This can lead to more fruitful conversations, out-of-the-box solutions, and never-seen-before answers to problems.
- They’re healthier – Sitting at your desk all day long is bound to take its toll on your health. Taking a necessary break and moving can work wonders for your health. A walking meeting provides just that while still being a productive part of the day.
- They’re less formal – A walking meeting allows everyone to have a conversation on the same level, instead of team members facing the boss sitting behind the desk. This can lead to better communication and more opportunities for everyone to speak.
A walking meeting doesn’t mean you have to physically meet up with your teammates. You can connect with your coworkers via mobile devices and talk to them while taking a walk.
3. Celebrate with Your Teammates
Have you achieved a new sales record? Is one of your team members having a birthday? Or maybe it’s National Chocolate Milk Day? Before the meeting, find an occasion to commemorate, no matter how big or small it is, and start your session with it. It will put everyone into a good mood and ease everyone into the tasks ahead.
Starting your meeting with a celebration will help you capture participants’ attention and keep their energy high. If there’s an important celebration, like Mental Health Awareness Day, it will give you an opportunity to have important conversations as well.
If a significant holiday is approaching, you can ask your team members to dress up accordingly. Let’s say Halloween is just around the corner. Yes, the meeting is about a new strategy, but it will be delivered by witches, scarecrows and zombies, making it more fun and anticipated than just a regular strategy meeting.
4. Take Your Team Out
Consider taking your meeting to a different location to make it more productive. It’s an opportunity to get out of the office and away from distractions (email, social media, etc.). This will allow you to get away from your usual work environment and focus on the task at hand.
Here at Tagvenue, we’re specialists when it comes to hiring spaces, so have a look at where you can take your team for a meeting:
Meeting Rooms
A hired meeting room will have everything you need to hold a productive session but will still give you the desired change of scenery. You can search for a room near your workplace to save time on the commute. Hiring an outside meeting room might be a good idea if you want to discuss something away from the ears of other employees. If you’re looking for someplace unusual, try searching for quirky meeting rooms.
Restaurants
If you want to hold your meeting over a meal, consider taking your team to a restaurant. Not only will you be able to work on your task, but a common meal serves as a great team bonding activity as well. Some restaurants offer private function rooms if you would like your meeting to go undisturbed.
Cafes
Taking your meeting to a cafe is a great idea if you’re looking to hold a creative session or a brainstorming meeting. The relaxed atmosphere of the cafe takes the pressure off the team members and allows for an interrupted idea flow. The good coffee and comfortable chairs will boost your productivity even more!
Outdoor Spaces
Taking your team for an outdoor meeting is good for their health, especially if you have employees who spend most of their time in the office. A little bit of fresh air and sunshine can help them relax and de-stress so that they can focus more on their tasks. It will also help with screen fatigue.
5. Change Meeting Roles
It’s important to encourage people to speak up and contribute their ideas as much as possible during the meeting. You don’t want some members of your team to dominate the conversation while others sit silently because they’re too shy or insecure about speaking up in front of others. To fight that, rotate chairs at meetings so everyone gets a chance to lead the group discussion and share their thoughts. In many cases, this will be the most effective way to keep meetings from becoming one-sided and boring.
If you assign roles to each participant in advance, it will be much easier to rotate them. If you’re not doing it yet, we recommend you start to keep your meetings as productive as possible.
6. Give out “Most likely to…” Awards
It’s another way of putting some celebration into your meetings but keeping the focus more on your team members. It’s a great way to recognise their personal traits that perhaps aren’t money-makers but make the work in the office more fun or enjoyable. Consider “Most likely to make you a coffee”, or “Most likely to end the day with a joke” for categories. Hold a vote among the employees, and award your coworkers when the meeting starts.
An award ceremony that doesn’t focus on work-related achievements is a great team-building activity as well. It can be the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together and recognise each other for their unique strengths and accomplishments.
Key Takeaways
Whether we like it or not, meetings are a big part of corporate culture and it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. We’re here to help you make meetings easier, more exciting, and more enjoyable. And we hope that our out-of-the-box ideas will help you out when it comes to preparing for your next one. If you were looking for something more fun though, check out some options on funny meeting themes that may come in handy.
And one more thing, no meeting starts without proper preparation, so use our checklist to make sure your next meeting is a success!
FAQ
How do you make the team meeting fun?
To make a team meeting fun, there are a few things you can do. You can start it off with an icebreaker game, such as Two truths, one lie, or Office trivia. You can add a brief celebration to each meeting, where you focus either on your team’s achievements or find interesting holidays to commemorate. You can take your team out and hire an unusual meeting space.
How do you make a meeting more engaging?
To make your meeting more engaging, it’s important to first plan it right. You need to know why the meeting is necessary and whether you’ve invited the right people to it. Set out a clear agenda, and don’t let it drag on for too long. Once all the attendees know those details, they will be more likely to participate. You can also add some games or icebreaker questions, rotate meeting roles, or set up a theme, to make the participants more eager to be a part of the meeting.
What makes a meeting successful?
A good meeting should have an agenda and everyone should have a clear understanding of what’s going to happen during the meeting. It should also have clearly defined roles for the people who will be participating. Finally, a successful meeting has clear goals and measurable outcomes that are communicated to the attendees prior to the meeting.
