There is an art to making everyone feel valued in meetings: valued for their questions, ideas, perspectives and commitments. Here are 6 easy ways to make any meeting a high engagement meeting.
Invite people to contribute to the agenda so there is relevance for their engagement
Have everyone record their own contributions on paper or virtual note cards so everything gets captured, nothing gets lost, filtered or unspoken and no one can dominate the converation
Make sure space is created throughout and at the end of meetings so people can ask for help after the meeting for agenda items that couldn't get exposure or closure in the meeting
Whenever possible in work sessions, use small groups to create optimum engagement and velocity
To create a culture of collaborative creativity, ask people to first respond to ideas with like and questions: What they like about an idea and what raises their curiosity
We've used these in meetings spanning an hour or day, with just a small handful or a large room full of people. It's amazing what happens when the structure of the meeting process prevents dominating, disappearing and derailing. Meetings do not need to be the places people go to feel excluded and not valued. They can be rich and vital sources of meaning and productivity.