In these blogs, called “Loving Creativity” we are going to help you create meetings that achieve their outcomes in a more creative and energising way, so that people come away thinking, “That was great”. Each week we will provide you with a tip that is practical  and that you can implement. Topics will fall under different headings such as preparation; building the right climate; tools and techniques and reporting. We will deal with different meeting styles, different sizes of meeting and different lengths.  If you like the idea of making your meetings more creative, click on the orange RSS link below to receive notification of the latest blog.

Click on Loving Creativity Blog above, to read the tips.

Loving Creativity # 1 ~ Five Principles for Creative Meetings

Meetings are about information. In meetings, people input, receive and process information and then share the output. They learn new information, they create new information and they use information for different purposes, such as planning. You can make this “information festival” more effective if you apply 5 principles, based on the principles of Accelerated Learning. We explain these below. As you read them, reflect on how they might help you improve your next meeting:

Create a great climate

Create interesting briefing materials to distribute before the meeting so that people know what to expect. Ensure there is sufficient space to move freely. Establish the climate as relaxed, welcoming and enjoyable. Have them interact and get to know each other straight away. Let them construct their own guidelines for meeting behaviour. Let them know the outcomes, the route and the attractions of getting there. Brighten the walls with inspiring material. Play music. Provide natural light and fresh air if possible. Provide healthy refreshment and water. All of these will relax people and help that information flow!

Engage them on different levels

People have multiple intelligences and they learn using their body, their eyes and ears as well as their mind. Some people like to gain information through hands on experience and use that information to generate new ideas. Some like to gain information  by standing back and thinking and use it to evaluate ideas. So cater for these different factors and individuals. Have them create not absorb, so avoid information dumping. Get them in the right STATE to create information flow.

Foster collaboration

Break down those barriers! Have them talk, work and play together in small teams rather than in a large group. Mix those teams around. Encourage them to reflect with others. Create an information community, rather than a group of individuals.

Inject variety      

Use a variety of media to appeal to all their senses and different intelligences: visuals, podcasts, reading materials etc. Use different types of exercises, vary group sizes, rotate people around groups, and change venues.

Involve the real world

Make it real not abstract. Relate all of your information to them.  As well as showing an idea on PowerPoint, use models, create a prototype or make a video. Better still, have them create their own prototypes.

Which of these principles have you used in your meetings and how have they helped? We would love to have your feedback!