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Water Guns and 4 Other Creative Ways to Liven Up Your Meetings
At Dixon Schwabl, an advertising, marketing and public relations firm in Victor, New York, the meetings are rarely dull, but they are sometimes wet.
Posted 1/ 27 10 at 5:50 PM | Business Trends, Management
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A A AAt Dixon Schwabl, an advertising, marketing and public relations firm in Victor, New York, the meetings are rarely dull, but they are sometimes wet.
The deluge happens during their brainstorming meetings, says Julianna Monacelli, a public relations supervisor at the company. "To keep employees on track, we will resort to using the loaded squirt guns. If employees are negative about an idea or say, 'That's not going to work,' they will be shot with a water gun to remind them that there's no such thing as a bad ide
The deluge happens during their brainstorming meetings, says Julianna Monacelli, a public relations supervisor at the company. "To keep employees on track, we will resort to using the loaded squirt guns. If employees are negative about an idea or say, 'That's not going to work,' they will be shot with a water gun to remind them that there's no such thing as a bad ide
Apparently, there's no such thing as a bad idea when it comes to keeping meetings creative, as well. After all, anyone in the business world knows meetings are often necessary for keeping employees informed and allowing them to collaborate. But everyone also knows that meetings are often witless wastes of time -- an opportunity to daydream, stare at your Blackberry and bloviate more than comprehend, plot and succeed.
But beware: "People hate meetings, because they are usually unproductive and a tremendous waste of time," says Ann Latham, president and founder of Uncommon Clarity, Inc., a Massachusetts consulting firm. "Making them 'fun' does not make them productive or do anything about the work being neglected or accumulating during the meeting. If you want to make people hate meetings less, make the meetings productive. If you only add 'fun,' people will likely just view it as more wasted time."
So in other words, better to make sure -- as Dixon Schwabl's CEO Lauren Dixon does -- there's a reason for the fun.
Here are some other creative ways for making your meetings fun, memorable and thus (hopefully) productive.
The "fun" meeting idea: Start off the meeting with a bunch of complaints.
How it works: As lousy of an idea as that sounds, it can be a fun, refreshing way to begin a meeting -- at least the way Joni Daniels does it. Daniels, who runs a management training and organizational development consultancy in Baltimore, Maryland, says her staff starts their meetings with something they call, "top my tragedy."
"Everyone puts a buck in the kitty and gets to whine about something that has happened that week at work," says Daniels. They get 60 seconds. "After everyone has had a chance to whine about one thing, everyone votes about who had the biggest tragedy, and the winner gets the cash."
Purpose: The "top your tragedy" part of the meeting could be looked at as a waste of time by some, but it's obviously a good chance to commiserate and bring up any potential problems that might have not surfaced -- then they can move onto the more pressing issues of the day.
The "fun" meeting idea: Punish people who come late to the meeting.
How it works: If you're late to a meeting at RedPeg Marketing in Alexandria, Virginia, you "have to sing a song," says Wayne Henninger, who does public relations for the company. "It always lightens the mood when someone has to bolt out a tune in front of everyone."
Purpose: Besides just being fun, Henninger observes that the song punishment does have the helpful effect of generally making sure people get to the meeting on time.
The "fun" meeting idea: Play musical chairs.
How it works: When Deborah A. Osgood runs a meeting, she makes it "mandatory to not sit in the same seats everyone sat in the previous time. This was suggested years ago by a member of the team, and we've done it ever since," says the co-founder of CKO Knowledge Institute, an Exeter, New Hampshire-based nonprofit that specializes in entrepreneurial education.
Purpose: "While it may sound small, everyone loves it, as it helps to avoid 'power positioning' at the head of the conference table, and keeps exchanges dynamic and innovative. It's actually been interesting to see a member of the team remind someone they sat there before and ask them to move."
The "fun" meeting idea: Play musical chairpersons.
How it works: Ray Silverstein, founder of PRO: President's Resource Organization, a business peer group advisory board in Chicago and Phoenix, and author of The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses, suggests that the boss doesn't lead, or chair, all the meetings.
The purpose: If you're running the show all the time, says Silverstein, "you may do all the talking while your people passively listen." He suggests letting various employees handle various meetings: "This encourages others to speak up and get involved. It also helps surface fresh ideas. But be careful not to run the meeting from the sidelines. As the boss, you are by nature intimidating. If you react negatively to your employees' ideas, they may be afraid to share them."
Unless, of course, you let your employees come armed with a water gun.
But beware: "People hate meetings, because they are usually unproductive and a tremendous waste of time," says Ann Latham, president and founder of Uncommon Clarity, Inc., a Massachusetts consulting firm. "Making them 'fun' does not make them productive or do anything about the work being neglected or accumulating during the meeting. If you want to make people hate meetings less, make the meetings productive. If you only add 'fun,' people will likely just view it as more wasted time."
So in other words, better to make sure -- as Dixon Schwabl's CEO Lauren Dixon does -- there's a reason for the fun.
Here are some other creative ways for making your meetings fun, memorable and thus (hopefully) productive.
The "fun" meeting idea: Start off the meeting with a bunch of complaints.
How it works: As lousy of an idea as that sounds, it can be a fun, refreshing way to begin a meeting -- at least the way Joni Daniels does it. Daniels, who runs a management training and organizational development consultancy in Baltimore, Maryland, says her staff starts their meetings with something they call, "top my tragedy."
"Everyone puts a buck in the kitty and gets to whine about something that has happened that week at work," says Daniels. They get 60 seconds. "After everyone has had a chance to whine about one thing, everyone votes about who had the biggest tragedy, and the winner gets the cash."
Purpose: The "top your tragedy" part of the meeting could be looked at as a waste of time by some, but it's obviously a good chance to commiserate and bring up any potential problems that might have not surfaced -- then they can move onto the more pressing issues of the day.
The "fun" meeting idea: Punish people who come late to the meeting.
How it works: If you're late to a meeting at RedPeg Marketing in Alexandria, Virginia, you "have to sing a song," says Wayne Henninger, who does public relations for the company. "It always lightens the mood when someone has to bolt out a tune in front of everyone."
Purpose: Besides just being fun, Henninger observes that the song punishment does have the helpful effect of generally making sure people get to the meeting on time.
The "fun" meeting idea: Play musical chairs.
How it works: When Deborah A. Osgood runs a meeting, she makes it "mandatory to not sit in the same seats everyone sat in the previous time. This was suggested years ago by a member of the team, and we've done it ever since," says the co-founder of CKO Knowledge Institute, an Exeter, New Hampshire-based nonprofit that specializes in entrepreneurial education.
Purpose: "While it may sound small, everyone loves it, as it helps to avoid 'power positioning' at the head of the conference table, and keeps exchanges dynamic and innovative. It's actually been interesting to see a member of the team remind someone they sat there before and ask them to move."
The "fun" meeting idea: Play musical chairpersons.
How it works: Ray Silverstein, founder of PRO: President's Resource Organization, a business peer group advisory board in Chicago and Phoenix, and author of The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses, suggests that the boss doesn't lead, or chair, all the meetings.
The purpose: If you're running the show all the time, says Silverstein, "you may do all the talking while your people passively listen." He suggests letting various employees handle various meetings: "This encourages others to speak up and get involved. It also helps surface fresh ideas. But be careful not to run the meeting from the sidelines. As the boss, you are by nature intimidating. If you react negatively to your employees' ideas, they may be afraid to share them."
Unless, of course, you let your employees come armed with a water gun.
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