NOT ANOTHER MEETING!
You're going through your day.... actually getting a lot done, feeling great. Accomplishment is a real "natural high" for you. You love days like this when time cooperates and things get done.
It's 3:00 - just another couple of hours and boy, you have very high intentions - to get more done and maybe, even, have time left over to clean off your desk. You are in heaven!
THEN, it's all spoiled. At 3:15, a piece of paper comes across your desk. It's delivered by some big hulk of a guy with a sinister laugh. It's like he's trying to irritate you and knows he's succeeding. You glance at the paper, your hands shaking with fear. It's a memo and it's from your BOSS. It's actually an "invitation", but it's not in a fancy, pretty envelope and it's not an optional invitation, but a mandatory dictum. It simply says:
MEETING at 3:30 p.m., in the conference room, to discuss....
You melt!. Your day is ruined. You'd like to make it through just one full day without a meeting.
Does this sound familiar? Probably most of us can relate. As much as we hate them, we can't eliminate them - they'll always be around, in one form or another.
So, if meetings are here to stay, how about making them a bit more fun and enjoyable. Here are some of our recommendations to make them more than tolerable:
First, make sure there are toys, coloring books and crayons on the conference table to play with while you're sitting there. They won't distract your hearing, but will actually relax you and help you listen more effectively. Now, what you draw and color might have to remain private and hidden, so as not to offend others around you; however, playing with a wind up toy or silly putty can be done openly.
Second, when invited to speak or when you have the urge to interject, why not try talking in an accent to make it fun. Now, this is not "making fun of others", it's having fun. You could talk in pig Latin or in a made-up accent. Or, you could talk in gibberish and see if others understand. Or, you could actually be silent and act out your ideas in Charades. This would create a game type environment and generate loads of laughter.
Third, you could have a "mental imagination session" going on within your head. What does this mean? Well, while listening to others, you could actually be thinking about how they might be being if they were only 5 years old. Or, you could wonder if they would be saying different things if the person they most admired was in the room. The sky's the limit in what you can "fantasize" about what someone else might do or think under different circumstances.
Fourth, if it becomes necessary to vote on issues, why not use some interesting objects to cast your vote. You could use water balloons, or you could throw koosh balls or marshmallows in the air at the appropriate moment (for aye or nay). You could also toss a stuffed animal, with one toss indicating yes or two indicating no. Again, use your imagination here.
Fifth, find out if your Boss is open to changing the location of the meeting. After all, there are many more positive places that meetings could take place. You could have the meeting around someone's pool to keep cool in the Summer, or in someone's hot tub in the Winter to stay warm. Or, you could have your meeting in the park on the playscape. Actually, that's a wonderful place to play Follow the Leader, which is appropriate.
Sixth, start the meeting by asking an open-ended hook of a sentence:
“Wouldn’t it be hilarious if…” or “The wildest thing I’ve seen at work is…”
You could also be on the lookout for the funniest quote of the meeting, a funny misstatement that can published in the meeting minutes. It may take a little time to get the humor flowing, but once they do you’ll have a positive energy flow for the rest of the meeting.
Seventh, pass out rubber bricks to be thrown at the latecomers and people who say something inappropriate during the meeting. The attendees will start showing up early so they can have the opportunity to throw the bricks at the tardy attendees.
Eighth, you can identify who the key meeting degreasers and use the Dilbert meeting personality labels, such as, the interrupter, the babbler, the sleeper, and the master of the obvious. Then you could hold a mock meeting to teach showcase meeting dynamics where you have the people in the meeting volunteer to play these roles and watch the humor arise out these situations.
Ninth, start putting fun thought-provoking items next to the last item of the agenda. Everyone will race through the other items on the agenda to get to something that is fun and meaningful. Which will save valuable time that can used more efficiently in the coffee break room. Some potential agenda items could be about inventing creative voice mail messages, inventing interesting e-mail messages, rationale for two hour lunch, elevator courtesy, and even meeting stimulators.
Your next meeting doesn’t have to bring a back your boring memories of why you hate them. Introduce some of these fun and humorous ideas into your meetings and pretty soon people will demand the opportunity of attending meetings.
About the Author
Terrill Fischer is the Chief Entertainment Officer of In the Moment Production, Inc., an Austin-based humor training and consulting firm. They can be reached at info@inthemoment.biz To subscribe to their free Communcation Moments Ezine, visit www.inthemoment.biz