How to Liven Up Boring Meetings
Matthew Homann posted some great ideas to spice up dull meetings in his blog [non] billable hour. These are the kind of meetings I want to attend!
These great tips for making boring conference/meeting space more conducive to creative thought come from Eva Niewiadomski, founder of Catalyst Ranch (really cool conference space in Chicago).
- Bring a small boom box and a couple of homemade CDs with an eclectic and exotically wild mix of music to set the mood for the meeting. Try to pick music that most people are not familiar with, but that is energetic.
- Use an unusual noisemaker to get people's attention or to tell them when to start or finish an exercise (i.e. bike horn, rattle, maracas, dinner bell, gong).
- Set up a station near the door where participants create their name tags instead of using preprinted or standard issue name tags. Provide them with different colored markers, stickers, mini-stamper markers and tell them to have some fun.
- Have the group actually create something during the icebreaker exercise that will give the room some character.
- Drape a few feather boas over several of the chairs.
- Place various ties, hats and wigs around the room and on the chairs.
- Bring small nerf guns and hoola-hoops.Pipe cleaners in cool containers
Eva also suggests a few things to place on the tables:
- Play-Doh
- Small etch-a-sketches
- Funny rubber noses
- Containers of crayons, coloring pencils and colored markers/funky colored pens
- Small mazes, puzzles
- Bowls of wild mixed candies and chocolates
- Yo-Yos
- Interesting books and magazines with lots of pictures
- Postcards you've received over the years
- Coloring books
Matt has just launched LexThink! Innovation Coaching, and is offering a great deal for his first 17 clients: "The coaching, conference calls, virtual assistance, and retreat (hotel and food) are all included in the price, which is $3,000. I'm giving a $1,000.00 discount to the first seventeen clients who sign up and agree to be my "Beta Testers." The first coaching group will start mid-September." If you are interested, e-mail him at Matt@LexThink.com.
