How to Make the Most of Meetings

No matter who you are or where you work, you go to meetings. There is a spectrum of how you feel about meetings. It looks like this:

My goal with this post is to move you, at least a little, from the eel side to the OMG side of things by sharing some tips on how to make your meetings effective, useful, and fun.

Purpose.

• Always have a clear goal or purpose for the meeting, and make sure everyone knows.
• Always have an agenda (even if it’s just “5-minute update from both teams”). Again, make sure everyone knows.

Timing.

• Create an expectation that meetings start and end on time, and stick to it.
• Limit meetings to 30 minutes and see what you can actually do with that focused time.
• Start meetings at an unusual time, like 1:36 pm.
• How do you make sure to stay on time? Read on…

Technology.

• Place a Phone Basket by the door and have everyone, including leadership, put their phones in there.

Consequences.

• To ensure these guidelines are respected, institute consequences – positive or negative – for behaviors that support or undermine being on time.
• For example, if you’re late, do 10 pushups for every late minute or you have to sing a song in front of the group.
• If you are the reason a meeting goes long, you have to buy a round of drinks for everyone, or bring coffee for everyone next time.
• If a phone rings during the meeting, the person needs to make a donation to a non-profit of choice.

Bring in a graphic recorder or graphic facilitator.

• Your team will be able to wade through complexity more quickly and easily by seeing the conversation take place in front of them.
• People stay engaged and better remember key ideas from the meeting.
• Seeking connections and working collaboratively become second nature to the group.
• Having a tangible map of what was achieved helps keep people focused and action-oriented after the meeting is over.

To me, the key for success here is building these behaviors and expectations into the organization’s culture.

For more great tips on effective meetings, read this article from Fast Company.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers, Karina

Interested in hosting the most interesting meetings in the world?

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

This week I’m out East in the DC area with the NSA again. We’re talking leadership, resiliency, and management styles and how to help teams work better together.

Three Things You Never Thought of to Level Up Your Company's Culture

What do you think of when you hear the word “culture”?

Does it make you want to panic and flee (potentially to the nearest bar and sing some Boy George songs)? It certainly is a popular business blog topic and a fun little buzzword that gets some folks fired up, and makes other peoples’ eyes glaze over.

Be that as it may, as someone who works closely with teams across different sectors, I get to see the effects of this powerful concept as I support groups moving through tough situations or developing steps to their ideal future state. Sometimes it’s clear that a team has a super dialed culture (aka it’s personality, or the basic shared values and beliefs of an organization), and sometimes it’s clear that folks haven’t taken the time to do the hard work it takes to cultivate and nurture a solid organizational culture.

So, because good things come in three’s, here are three ways a graphic facilitator can help you identify and share what makes your org so incredibly high-functioning and generally awesome so you can keep leading the pack and changing the world.

Create it Together. Communication can make or break an organization. If everyone can actually see themselves in the goals you’re aiming for, they’re much more likely to remember and commit to the group’s vision. Creating a shared, visual reflection of the group’s ideas and stories is a powerful tool to develop buy-in.

Share Like It’s Your Job (It Is). Tools like Summary Graphics and Explainer Videos can be used after your killer, productive, collaborative and fun meeting to remind what people bring to the bigger picture. These beautiful illustrations are often hung in shared spaces or individual desks because they’re stylish and functional – i.e. they’re not only packed with key ideas from everyone, they’re nice to look at too.

Nurture & Invest. Humans have a delightful tendency to change and adapt, and your organizational culture really should do the same to be useful. This might sound exhausting, but it’s an opportunity to build trust and autonomy in your org. Working with a graphic facilitator to train your employees on visual and collaborative thinking is an investment that can have a glorious ripple effect. Skills like suspending judgement, divergent thinking, and of course, creative doodling can have a tremendously positive effect on teams. Go on, teach them to fish.

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Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

 
Cheers, Karina



All this culture business (and business culture) sounds like fun. Click below so we can start designing your culture & communication strategy together.

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Last week I shared a finished explainer video on Dialogue and Deliberation, this week is a more behind-the-scenes perspective. Here's a shot of my video recording set up for the most recent video I recorded. I won't be able to share the video per my client's privacy, but I can show you that the magic is made right here!