Meeting magic!

Here are some ideas to consider when you’re in charge of putting on a meeting for your associates, customers, distributors or other people outside your organization. Not all these suggestions will apply—so just pick out one to start with, and use it at your next meeting!

Your Invitation

Sell the end result in the invitation. “When this meeting is over you’ll leave with…” Tell them the objective for the meeting. “The entire focus of the meeting is…”

Your Agenda

Print two different agendas—one for your audience and one for your presenters, the AV staff, the facility and your support team!

The Audience Copy
Only show the times they need to know—when the meeting begins and ends (if necessary). If it’s a half-day meeting and you’re providing lunch, avoid saying on the agenda “Closing Speaker & Lunch at 12:00 pm.” Just say instead, “Closing Speaker followed by Lunch.” That leaves you a cushion if you’re late! When you show the audience exact times for each speaker they keep checking their watch. “Hey, Nick is 22 minutes over.” Or, “Why did Bob only speak for 11 minutes, he had 20 on the agenda ...what did he leave out?”

The Actual Time Agenda
This is only for those who must know real times. Make it very specific and leave yourself “cushion time.” Put in 5 minutes here and there to cover housekeeping announcements and the unexpected. Remember if you end your meeting early, your audience will be thrilled! End right on time and you’re a hero. Run late, you’re seen as being unprofessional.

Breaks

Here’s the rule of thumb: People need a bathroom break within 90 minutes of breakfast...especially coffee drinkers, so your first break in the morning should be within the first 90 minutes of your opening. After lunch, you need more frequent breaks, so go for 90 minutes, then break, then 75 minutes of meeting, then break, and finally, 60 minutes and then close

Stretch Breaks

Add stretch breaks half way between the regular breaks. It gets the audience’s energy back and gives those with tiny kidneys a chance to sneak out!

Food & Drink Service

Insist on double-sided self-service stations and multiple serving stations if your group is over 50 people. It saves lots of time.

Introductions

“Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the United States of America...” Hail to the Chief music begins and the President steps on stage. Everyone else needs an introduction! It’s like a picture frame on a painting—it frames your speaker. And never ever leave the lectern empty! (Yes, “lectern” is correct! Podium is what you stand on.) Leaving a “naked lectern” is like leaving the wheel of a ship—you need someone in charge. So, give your intro and wait for your presenter to take control and then get out of their way!

Housekeeping Announcements

Give your attendees only the info they need to know for that day or half day. Avoid discussing on Day 1 what they need to do on Day 3. You can put it in print on each day’s agenda, but don’t talk about it until they need to know. Schedule about 5 to10 minutes each morning and afternoon for “announcements.” Don’t show the time on their agenda, but use it as a cushion time on yours.

Handouts

Avoid handing out presentation materials before the presenter speaks!

“Okay, here’s your 476 pages of everyone’s PowerPoint presentation and our President’s closing comments.” “Oh good, I’ll take the book and go home!”

Give out handouts after the presentations or at the end of the meeting, or your audience gets ahead of the speaker and isn’t listening. Also, use an “AH-HA” or “Gold Nuggets” page. Encourage your audience to write down their own ideas and action plans—not just the words of the speakers. “You’ll hear from 22 speakers during the next three days. All that really counts is what you DO as a result of what you hear.”

Visuals

Must be visible, or they aren’t visual! Use LARGE type size. Use a limited number of lines and single bullet points. If you have 10 points, show them one at a time, or you may be talking about point #3 and the audience is already reading points 9 & 10. When you prepare your visuals, print them out and put them on the floor. Stand up, and if you can’t read them from that distance, your audience won’t be able to either. In the meeting room, take a seat in the last row, put your visuals on the screen, and if you can’t read them, neither can they! Keep your visuals in the top 1/2 or 2/3 of the screen. People usually can’t see the bottom 1/3 of the screen.

Closing

Don’t say “In closing . . . ..” The audience immediately thinks, “Okay, he’s done. I’ll pack up my stuff and stop listening.” Build to a closing and then, just close! Avoid telegraphing your ending!

Use Humor

Humor energizes your audience! When you laugh, the positive effect is that you’re more receptive to new ideas. That’s why using humor at your meetings can be such a positive. You can laugh about the boss’s’s frugality, his hair or lack thereof, about being in whatever city you’re in, and the hotel soaps and shampoos. Make sure all of the humor is approved by “the victim” beforehand! Can you laugh at yourself? Hey, everyone else is, so you might as well join them!

Make your next meeting a Magical Event!