#18: How to increase engagement in the first 90 seconds of a meeting

I am going to share 4 ideas on how I increase team engagement during the first 90 seconds of meetings.

Recently, I went to a 50 person party hosted by a friend. When I walked in, I was greeted by a sea of strangers having side conversations leaving me feeling unsure where to go or what to do. I felt nervous, until I built up the confidence to navigate through the crowd, grab a drink and self-soothe to orient myself. Nobody welcomed me.

The same uncomfortableness can happen when people arrive to a meeting. Thoughts that go through our head:

• Should I go off mute?
• Why is Margaret in this meeting?
• Everyone is silent. I guess I will turn my camera off and wait
• Marcus is running late. great. Let me catch up on my emails.
• Ugh, my kids’ toys are in the background - I wonder if people are judging me…
• Wait, what is this meeting even about?

Meeting leaders miss a critical moment to create connection

Just like we want to feel welcomed when we arrive to a party, it is our responsibility as kickass facilitators to shift participants from being nervous and awkward to feeling welcomed and connected.

Unfortunately, most meeting hosts miss that first 90 seconds because:

• they feel like they have to wait for everyone to get started
• they feel like the meeting needs to be productive and there is no time for “ice breakers”
• they forget that trust and connection are the foundation for effective problem solving
• they don’t have tools and frameworks prepared to create a moment of connection

Here are 4 ways to overcome these barriers and bring a moment of engagement and connection to the start of your meetings.

4 ways to create engagement in the first 90 seconds

1. Ask people to share a relevant story

There is a purpose to your meeting. Ask people to tell a story or share a tool from their domain.

For instance, if you are a design team gathering business stakeholders to go over your latest round of research, you could start the meeting saying “OK as everyone is arriving to the meeting, I want you to describe the worst customer experience call you have ever been on”

If you are an accountant, you can ask people for their favorite Excel function and why

If you are doing quarterly planning, ask people to share a vacation plan that went awry

This is the moment people can geek out, share their favorite tools, tell a story and create a moment of bonding. It sets the stage for the meeting at hand.

2. Play “Name that Tune”

Another way to create levity at the start of the meeting is to share your audio and play some popular, recognizable songs. Ask people to guess the name and artist and give people 1 point for each one they get right.

For those that have been in my workshops, you know I love this technique. Last week I shared 5 of my favorite playlists on LinkedIn to set the tone during a meeting. Here is the playlist for Meeting Arrival. I also like the “Songs to Sing to in the Shower” playlist on Spotify.

3. Guide a silent meditation:

Not every meeting needs to start high energy.

Ask people to take 30 seconds to close their eyes and breathe deeply while thinking about one person on the call and send them gratitude.

This is a simple but effective group technique to feel the people in the room and be in a space of giving and receiving gratitude.

Watch the shift in the room after 30 seconds.

4. Ask trivia questions using ChatGPT:

There is a reason why trivia nights are incredibly popular. They create team bonding and connection. I love asking a generative AI product like chatGPT to come up with some questions related to my meeting.

Here is prompt you can copy and paste:

“Hey ChatGPT, what are 10 funny and true trivia questions with multiple choice answers related to {meeting topic}? Share with me the correct answer for each question.”

Here is an example related to a change management meeting I attended:

What’s a common joke about consultants in change management?

A) They are the only ones who understand what's going on

B) They make more coffee than decisions

C) They borrow your watch to tell you the time

D) They love change because they get paid by the hour.

Correct Answer: C. Ha. Got me...

Bonus points: Divide people up in two teams and create a little competition!

Summary

The start of a meeting is a critical moment to set the tone for your time together. It is an opportunity to lean into your shared humanity, and create a vibrant experience that creates connection and sets the meeting up for success.

Less about icebreakers and introductions. More about arriving and feeling welcomed.