Are you — and your attendees — tired of the same old meeting format? Here are three meeting formats that will add excitement and engagement to your next event.
Asking attendees to sit in classroom style listening to a speaker may work for some meetings, but most nowadays require a bit more pizazz to keep attendees engaged and focused. If you want your 2025 events to be more interactive and productive, one or more of these innovative meeting formats may be just what you’re looking for.
The room setup is key for this format, which requires two circles of chairs, a smaller inner circle and a larger one outside the inner circle, similar to a theater-in-the-round setup. Split your team into two parts, with the smaller group sitting in the inner circle, called the “fishbowl.” The meeting starts with those in the fishbowl discussing a specific topic — only those in the fishbowl can speak. If someone from the inner circle has said all they want to say, they can leave and join the outer circle. If someone from the outer circle wants to contribute, they can replace one of the fishbowl participants. It can help to have a facilitator to ensure smooth transitions between the participants and the observers.
The non-hierarchical format makes it easier for everyone who wants to to engage, while those who prefer to observe can do so without feeling like they’re missing out. It works best when the topic is something everyone has some familiarity with — it’s not a good format for disseminating new information.
You can further jazz up this format by making the room set actually look like a café, with small rounds covered in butcher-block paper and colored pens people can use to write on the tables with. Each table is dedicated to discussing a specific topic, and there’s usually a dedicated “table host” to lead the discussion and take notes. You split your attendees into small groups of four to five people each, then have them pick a table and start discussing that table’s topic. After 20 minutes, ring a bell and have people change to another table that sounds interesting to them — or they can stay at the same table if they have more to talk about before moving on. At the end of the session, have each table host report out on the top learnings on their discussions. These sessions also can be enhanced by having a graphic recording artists roaming among the tables and drawing a graphic depiction of the key discussion points and conclusions.
As with fishbowls, good facilitators can keep things flowing smoothly and productively.
Brain dates are somewhat similar to World Café sessions, only the attendees set the agenda ahead of time by digitally sharing topics they want to either share their knowledge of or learn more about. Other attendees can sign up either for one-on-one conversations, or group discussions. After a set time, ring a bell to indicate it’s time to move to the next “brain date.” The combination of self-directed, experiential and collaborative peer learning and human-centered technology is designed to create genuine moments of inspiration and exchange, as well as lay a foundation for relationship building and professional growth.
Stay tuned for more ideas on how to make meetings and events more engaging and interactive — and please do share what has worked for you by emailing sue.worthit.com! Your suggestions will be featured in a future story.
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