The most effective and important meetings always include one vital element: engaged employees.
Your office is a team, and if your teammates are falling asleep in a
meeting or not contributing to the conversation, your organization is
not running as efficiently as possible.
So how do you keep your employees from becoming disengaged?
Assign team members meeting responsibilities.
Giving someone a job to do during a meeting is an almost immediate
way to keep that individual member actively engaged in what is
happening. Assign simple tasks for your team to assist you with, such as
setting up the displays, bringing refreshments, being a timekeeper, or
someone to help keep discussions from going too far off-track.
Talk less. Foster discussion more.
A lot of employees dislike meetings because they do not feel like
they have a real voice in how their company proceeds. Help them feel
like their input and thoughts are valued by spending less time talking.
Once you’ve given the high points on a topic, instead of being the main
person talking, try to foster discussion amongst your team. The more
they talk, the more involved and engaged they will be in not just the
outcome of the meeting, but following through once the meeting is over.
Let team members run parts of the meeting.
Another way to give your team members more engaging responsibilities
is to surrender the lead on a discussion to them. Use the assets of your
team. If someone in your office is a master of a subject related to
your goals and tasks, give them a heads up and let them run that part of
the meeting. They’ll have stronger answers to questions and it shows a
level of trust in your team.
Request feedback after the meeting.
Every group of people works differently. Be sure to gather
information and feedback about what your team members liked, or
disliked, about a meeting. Ask them one on one, or ask for information
using anonymous surveys. If your team all seems to be saying the same
things, take their input and make adjustments to how your meeting flows.
