20 Ways to Remove the zzzs From Your Next Meeting

My clients frequently recount two recurring meeting maladies: boredom, caused by their own team's internal sleep-inducing presentations; and momentum-stoppers, which cause attendees to lose interest in the meeting. I have 20 proven and practical strategies to help you erase the blahs and remove the zzzs from your next meeting.

Before the Meeting:

1. Ask attendees to contribute to the success of the meeting before they show up, by providing feedback on the content areas they crave, the challenges they face, the solutions they seek, the recreational activities they prefer, and the speakers they'd love to hear.

2. Provide participants with a book to read one to two months before the conference and have it serve as an idea-generator for group discussion. It's especially powerful when the book's author is a speaker at the meeting.

3. Provide attendees with a brief CD/DVD that showcases the schedule, speakers, destination, activities, and includes short messages from key leaders with anticipated learner outcomes.

During the Meeting:

4. Get them involved by providing opportunities to network.

5. Change seating assignments at meals so attendees are able to meet new folks.

6. Create an impactful and meaningful theme.

7. Use music and lighting to support your theme.

8. Reinforce the theme with books and promotional/customized gifts.

9. Keep to your budget, but don't be cheap - your group will notice. Use every opportunity to show them you care and that they're important.

10. Have a dialogue about "best practices."

11. Create a format for people to identify their take-aways ­- what they'll implement back in the field or at the office - each day at the meeting.

12. Before attendees return from an evening activity, have the hotel room drop an amenity for them, such as a signed book from the next day's speaker.

13. Leave daily announcements under their door, in their room, or via voicemail on their hotel phone, recapping what was accomplished today, what to look forward to tomorrow, and even recent success stories.

14. Create opportunities for interaction through teambuilding activities such as game shows, competitions, or a scavenger hunt.

15. If your leaders agree to it, have them do some goofy things that reinforce the meeting's message - dressing in costume, or lip-synching songs with customized lyrics. After the Meeting:

16. Ask attendees to create action plans with measurable behaviors and send them to your leaders.

17. Create a system to measure impact and results.

18. Hold folks accountable by checking their progress.

19. Provide books, CDs, DVDs, online learning, blogs, Webinars, and other ways to reinforce the meeting's key messages.

20. Reward successes and tell others about these tales of triumph.

Jeff Blackman is a speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster, and lawyer. He can be reached at (847) 998-0688, jeff@jeffblackman.com, or visit www.jeffblackman.com.