Kick your meetings off right.

I’m a fan of getting people to share personally. It’s always nerve wracking for people to share, but I’ve found the effect of connecting to the human-ness of people in the room is immensely stronger than other techniques. I will intersperse these through a day and not just let them sit in the beginning. Depending on the familiarity of folks in the room with each other, I’ll dig into deeper questions.

Bad at keeping time? Use Miro’s timer to help you stay on track during your icebreaker to make sure that you still have time for your regular scheduled agenda!

I think the practice of giving kudos is powerful for many reasons. It‘s an act of gratitude. It‘s an expression of human connection, of another person‘s contribution. It encourages growth and striving. Giving and receiving kudos releases dopamine in the brain, which feels good and encourages the same behaviour in pursuit of the same feel good reward.

I find the mixed meeting experience creates an inequitable experience for participants. As a facilitator, I believe the best outcomes for trust building and meaningful collaboration happen when the meeting has a level playing field – either all together in person, or all virtual.

This is such a fun way to mix up a normal bingo game, because instead of just listening for numbers to be called you’re also learning facts you may not have known about your colleagues! A great way to facilitate conversation starters with people you may not have talked to before.

Dancing is a fun way to get energy out and connect and have fun as a group. It can also be chair dancing if that is more comfortable. And although we always suggest camera’s on – if turning the camera off and letting loose gets the best physical outcomes that is an option too.