10 Ways to Not Have a Boring Meeting.

This month’s article has been provided by Jim Carroll.

I spend a fair bit of time on the MimList; it’s a global forum of meeting
planners. Someone referenced an article from Hotel and Motel Management, on the
fact that many attendees at conferences are finding that things are becoming a
bit dull.

When I read the article, I agreed; I see many meeting organizers on autopilot,
doing the same programs over and over. So I charged ahead and wrote up my
thoughts on the matter, coming up with my 10 Ways to Try to Not Have a Boring
Meeting.

1. Do things different.
Don’t do what you did last year. Set out from the start to try to do
something else. *That’s* your key objective.

2. Banish bad phrases.
At your first meeting planning meeting, stop the meeting the first time
someone says, “We’ve always done it that way.” Stop. Pause. Deep
breath. Calmly state, “And your point is?”

3. Get a 22 year old involved.
They think different! They are different! They are the ones who are really
bored; the rest are probably asleep. Seek their input; it’s valuable and
important. You can learn a lot from them.

4. Forget teambuilding, icebreakers, keynotes, spousal programs, breakouts.
Think of new words that mean new things. “Startling openers.” “10 ideas that
will shock you.” “Not a keynote — it’s a dramatic wake up call.” “A big group
talking about big things”. Whatever — the point is to banish words *that mean
the same old thing*. Banish the words — and you are banishing a certain line of
thinking.

5. Throw out your program brochure template.
Hire someone you don’t like to redo it. Explain what you are trying to do,
and ask them what *they* think. You might find their radical ideas present a
breath of fresh air.

6. Go elsewhere. Forget Vegas, NYC and Orlando.
Go to Boise! Maine! Seattle! Victoria! Halifax! Cuba! Einstein said:
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different
result each time.” If you take your folks to Vegas every 2nd year, it’s just
another opportunity for them to get hammered in the same bar while they wake up
with the same hangover to go see the same old tired opening talk.

7. Put the seats in the opening session upside down, and face them backwards!
Why not? Everyone knows that they are going to come in to this big room,
they are going to find lots of seats, and they are all going to be pointed at
the front. SO CHANGE IT. Radical times call for radical change — and that’s a
good point to get across. Heck — put the stage at the back of the room, and sit
everyone up front.

8. Put a big “ITS RUBBER CHICKEN!” sign on your lunchtime chicken — and have
a rubber chicken for a centerpiece!
We *ALL* know it is going to be chicken. It’s going to be lousy. The fact
is, we’re bored with chicken — so lets celebrate it! Lets’ note it! Let’s point
it out! That itself is good for a bit of difference!

9. Program differently!
Invite a speaker you don’t know. Invite someone in from an industry
*totally* unrelated to what you do to talk. Do things different — if your CEO
or association head typically does the opening address, ask the newest member to
say something too! In other words, do something totally different from what you
do. Y’know, sort of like “opposite day,” which is what my kids always suggest to
me.

10. Confront boring.
The fact that there is an article like this out there *IS NOT A GOOD THING*.
This is an industry suffering from a deep malaise. The same programs. The same
content. The same table settings. The same stuff. The same places. The same
things. The same phrases.

Dullsville..

Think different, be different, do different. At least Apple had it right. So
should you.

Jim Carroll, FCA, is a leading international futurist, trends & innovation
expert, with clients such as the US Army Corps of Engineers, Nestle, Motorola,
and the Government Finance Officers Association, and the author of the book
“What I Learned From Frogs in
Texas: Saving Your Skin With Forward Thinking Innovation.” You can contact Jim
at [email protected] and
learn more about his keynote presentations and workshops at
www.jimcarroll.com.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any
questions or comments about this article.

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