We are spread thin, over-worked, and sometimes under-appreciated. And on top of it, we are expected to attend several meetings a day. How many meetings can one handle in any given week? The smart facilitator knows the most productive meetings are those that incorporate some fun. Here are some ideas to get your juices going. 1) Roll Out the Red Carpet – Literally have a red runner to entrance way of the meeting. Send out the meeting invites or agenda to let folks know they are invited to walk the red carpet because they are VIPs. Maybe even have the paparazzi there taking photos.
2) Take 10 – If the meeting starts at 9am, invite attendees to, “Take 10 Minutes,” prior to the meeting as some informal social time to get caught up on sports, birthday wishes, and anything fun that is happening.
3) Food & Beverage – Meetings are very dull without something to nibble on or at least something to drink. Make it fun by providing old fashion Cokes in the bottle, breakfast foods, chocolate, or an unexpected treat.
4) Something Funny – Have a flip chart or bulletin board dedicated to cartoons, photos, or silly jokes so that folks can peruse the area on break or contribute to it if it’s a regular meeting area.
5) Give Me a Break – Over the years it used to be that in order to maintain attention, media needed to change minimally every 20 minutes. It is now closer to 7 minutes. So break it up with questions, videos, brainstorming, and at least one break every hour and a half.
6) Blow It Up – A fun way to get ideas on a central issue is to give each participant a small slip of paper and a balloon. Each person then writes their solution on the slip, places it inside the balloon and blows it up. You throw the balloons in the air. Everyone grabs one, pops it and reads the answer.
7) Crazy Hat Day – Invite participants to wear a hat to the next meeting. It can be a silly hat, a favorite hat or their sports team hat. Just a little way to add some laughter and personality to the next time you get together.
8) Movie Theme – Make the invites in the form of, “Admit One,” Tickets. Utilize movie terms, serve popcorn and movie candy like, “Snowcaps,” or, “Goobers.” Write your meeting minutes in the form of a movie review. Decorate with movie props or cardboard cutouts. Party stores always have movie themed decorations. The ideas here are endless.
9) Trivia Questions or Brain Teasers – Before each break pose a question or handout a brainteaser. Those who are back from break on time with the correct answer get points or a prize. This will also create a competition if you do it in teams. Competition always breeds fun.
Nerf Balls – To keep folks on track and make the group responsible for productive meeting behaviors, place nerf balls or foam balls around the table. When someone is late from break or violates your meeting guidelines. They get nerfed!
There’s a great quote by Plato that says, “One can discover more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation.” And laughter makes learning memorable. In 20 years of facilitating meetings, one thing I have learned is the meeting is more memorable and more eagerly attended if you have created a healthy balance of the human and business levels. Strictly business is dry and puts folks to sleep. Add some fun and you will find people won’t mind attending and will even bring more to the table of solutions!
If you have ideas for making meetings more fun, email me at dcarden@cityofmorrow.com. We may feature your idea on a future blog post!
It’s that time of the year. Nicer weather is coming our way. The Wisteria and dogwoods are in full bloom. And many of us have the urge to get out and do something! Robin Williams said, “Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" 
