Meetings can be a complete waste of time (and drain the life from your employees). But even when meetings are useful and necessary, spending hours in the same conference room week after week can make you and your staff a little stir-crazy. Consider these alternatives to shake things up:
- Chat with employees. You can discover a lot by simply talking with your team members in casual settings. Stop by their workstations for status updates. The conversations will be more efficient and genuine, since they won’t be swayed by their co-workers’ opinions.
- Go to the source of the problem. If you’re meeting to address a particular issue or mistake, meet where it happened. If customers are complaining about the state of your fitting rooms, meet there. If the kitchen is confusing orders, meet there. Your employees will be more focused on the issue at hand, and being on location often illuminates the cause of the problem.
- Hold a walking meeting. If you’re meeting only with one or two people, walk while you talk. The exercise will stimulate your brain, and you won’t be tempted to let the meeting go longer than it needs to.
- Go outside. As the weather cools off, schedule an outdoor meeting. The sunshine and fresh air will invigorate your team. Note: Choose an outdoor location that offers plenty of shade. Sunburns shouldn’t be a side effect of a meeting!
If you can’t break free from the conference room, watch this video to learn how to conduct better meetings regardless the location. And make them a bit more productive with these hacks.
What’s the best meeting you ever attended? What made it memorable? Share your experiences with us in the comments section.Â
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