5 Ways to Turn Your Corporate Meetings from Drab to FAB

We’ve all been in long corporate meetings that felt like they would never end. 

But does it have to be that way? Is it possible to run a successful meeting without losing people to online shopping? At Balcom, we’ve got some experience with that. 

Here are our top five tips for making a corporate meeting enjoyable – and, dare I say, fun.

1. Put their needs before yours.  

Create a room full of comfortable, engaged individuals. Remember: 

• Make the room comfortable. Make sure no chairs are positioned facing away from you. Who likes to strain their neck for two days?
• Give participants an agenda before the meeting. Be sure to include meeting time, room location, meeting participants, meeting goals, bio breaks and an hourly breakdown of presentations or workshops.
• Brain food. Let participants know if you’ll provide food or if they should bring their own. You don’t want a room full of growling stomachs. Hangry!
• Be ready. Prepare any handouts, worksheets or posters to hang on the wall before the first participant enters the room. You don’t want to be scrambling to get that darn sticky paper to stick to the wall.
• Notes. Plan who’ll take detailed notes throughout the meeting and reassure participants they don’t need to. Their job is to power down and focus in.

2. Listen 

Now that your group is awake and engaged, there will be questions, comments and input; your job is to listen. If a comment is off topic but a valid point, start a list of “parking lot” items to be discussed after the meeting. By addressing everyone’s thoughts, you create an open environment for people to learn and process the information covered in the meeting.