15 Tips for Making Meetings More Exciting and Motivating

1. Provide food. It is a good idea to have meetings around breakfast or lunch. Food helps people bond and feel more connected. If it is not breakfast or lunch, snacks can still be provided. Food is a form of appreciation. I once worked for a company that was so cheap, they would have a team meeting at lunch from 12:00 to 1:00, but everyone would have to bring their own food. The employees were giving up their lunch hour, and they had to bring their own food. This had a very negative impact. There were ten people at the meeting; sixty dollars worth of pizzas and drinks once a month could have made a positive impact. So build some enthusiasm by having good food for meetings. Here is another important point: Explain why you are providing food. The manager might say, “Well everyone, we have all been working real hard and we are right now ahead of our goal for the year. This lunch is a special token of my appreciation for your hard work.”

2. Play music. Have high-energy music playing when participants enter the meeting room. Now some people would say, “Well that is silly.” But remember the goal is to make the meeting more exciting and motivating, and music can play a big part in that. When you go to a Broadway show or any venue where there is entertainment, they have music and it is there for a reason: to build excitement and anticipation!

3. Show videos. Use videos on occasion to open or close a meeting. They can be on various inspirational and motivating topics. This is a way to get people thinking about motivation and a positive attitude on a regular basis, which can have an amazing impact on the team. A video that is well produced can really have an impact on the team.

4. Conduct training. Have a fun, interactive training session during each meeting. It can be on communication, product knowledge, operational knowledge, motivating, etc. There are many great training programs on the market, which can be purchased with a video, learners’ guide, and facilitator’s guide. The other option is to take advantage of the corporate Training Department if your company has one. In addition, you can assign team members to do training on their various areas of expertise.

5. Play games. There are all sorts of games on the market designed for training that can be used during team meetings. They can help a team learn more about each other, learn how to communicate better, and many other topics. They can be found in the various books that are published that have games for training. If people feel better about the team they work with, it can be very motivating.

6. Bring in a guest. Have a guest speaker at your meeting who is an executive in the company. To give it an extra “kick,” make it a surprise. Have the guest talk about the company as a whole and the contributions that your team is making to the efforts of the company. You can also have a vendor, supplier, or large account come in and speak to the group. This can be a way of bringing some energy and impact to a meeting.

7. Change the location. Have the meeting off site at a fun location and have a group activity afterward. I once worked for a manager who had a meeting off site: We had lunch and then went bowling that afternoon as a team-building activity. Everyone felt appreciated and had fun. Talk about motivating!

8. Give fun awards. On occasion, give out fun awards to team members for small accomplishments. This might be for achieving smaller goals or going above and beyond the call of duty that month. The awards can be movie tickets, gift certificates, or a simple paper certificate. The idea is just to recognize a team member’s achievement publicly in front of their peers.

9. Conduct a brainstorming session. It is very motivating to employees when you ask for their ideas, and asking the group to brainstorm is just that. Brainstorming can be fun and stimulating, and great ideas can come from the process.

10. Have a theme. At certain times, such as holidays or seasons, it is fun to use a theme for a meeting and have that theme woven into the agenda, topics, etc.

11. Read a book. Have all team members read a book or an article and have a facilitated discussion around the topic. The manager should pick a topic that is particularly relevant to the current situations going on in the department or team.

12. Use a prop. As part of the meeting, give each person a handout item such as a rock, a box of sparklers, or any other item. Then have a discussion as to why you gave each one of them that item. Let’s say the manager has set a sales goal of increasing sales 150 percent. The manager can say, “I want you to rock our sales goal and I want everyone to leave this rock on their desk to remind them of the goal.” This technique can be used with any item. It’s different and it gets them thinking.

13. Delegate a segment of the meeting. Have a team member work on research about a particular topic and have them present it to their team at a staff meeting. It could be a topic about the industry, competitors, or any topic that is relevant to the group. By tapping into people’s expertise, they will be flattered and motivated.

14. Have a contest. Break the group into smaller teams and have a contest in between the meetings. The rules should be outlined and in writing. The prizes can be small. The team will be excited and fired up about winning the competition.

15. Highlight a team member. Have a team member give a presentation about themselves and what they do. They will be flattered that they were asked and will be motivated that other people know the contribution they make to the team.

There are many ways to make meetings more fun and motivating, and the 15 above are just a few. The payoff is that a manager can make a meeting interesting and motivating instead of mundane.

The environment doesn’t just exist in the work place. It is created by the manager—or just allowed to happen by accident. As Ken Gilbert once said, “The mechanics of industry is easy. The real engine is people—their motivation and direction.”