“That meeting could’ve been an email.”
If that’s a common complaint among staff, or you at least get the feeling that’s what they’re thinking, it’s time to switch things up — while still keeping meet-ups productive and purposeful. (After all, they’re an inevitable part of the world of work, so it’s not like you can wish them to extinction.)
So, how do you go about making team meetings great again?
In this guide, we’ve curated 20 fun and out-of-the-box team meeting ideas to make your next staff meeting a little less boring and a little more engaging — and we also discuss their importance.
Why are team meetings important?
Whatever the frequency of your staff meetings (whether daily, weekly or biweekly), holding them regularly has many benefits, including:
- They boost team morale and camaraderie
- They keep everyone in the loop
- They promote collaboration
- They strengthen interpersonal relationships
- They’re an opportunity for teams to brainstorm, solve problems or voice concerns
- They keep teams aligned with the company’s goals and vision
And the more effective they are, the better they foster a positive work environment. This, as a result, helps you create a company culture that people want to be a part of — significantly decreasing turnover rates and job dissatisfaction levels, and increasing overall engagement.
20 fun and out-of-the-box team meeting ideas
Need some inspiration to make your next staff meeting awesome? Here are 20 ideas!
1. Celebrate a win
One of the best ways to start any staff meeting is to do so on a positive note, like celebrating a recent win — whether it’s an individual, team or company-wide win.
Indeed, it lets everyone know they’re doing a good job, which is both motivational and inspirational in keeping up the good work. Plus, everyone needs and deserves a little recognition, even if it’s just a pat on the back.
2. Host a potluck
If you’ve planned the meeting to the middle of the day, it’s possible it will carry over into your team’s lunch breaks. And if you can’t arrange it for a more suitable time, then you might as well make the best of it.
Enter the potluck. What other better way to brainstorm over lunch?
3. Incorporate mindfulness exercises
There are many general benefits to mindfulness exercises, like meditation, including reduced stress and anxiety, and enhanced concentration, emotional regulation and resilience — all of which come in handy for any staff meeting.
Indeed, by incorporating mindfulness exercises into your next meeting, whether before it begins or as a mid-break, it will help everyone focus on the conversation better.
4. Build a wall of ideas
Meetings are a great time and place for coming up, sharing and discussing ideas — there’s no doubt about it. But, unfortunately, they can be hard to keep track of, especially when they’re coming left, right and center at you.
A good way to make sure no idea is lost, especially a good one, is to build a wall of ideas in the conference room (basically a whiteboard and some sticky notes).
5. Ask icebreaker questions
This is a great meeting idea if you have new people joining your team. Indeed, it can help you create a comfortable environment and encourage everyone to get to know each other a little bit — as well as set the tone for a positive interaction.
But shy away from cringey or cliché icebreaker questions like “What are three facts about yourself?” and instead get a little creative with something like “If you could have any superpower, what would it be, and why?”
6. Encourage casual watercooler chat
Small talk will always find its way into the meeting room, whether at the start or during the get-together. And that’s okay. In fact, you should encourage it so team members feel connected to each other.
Of course, if it takes over the meeting, you’ll need to reel everyone back in to the purpose of the meeting. But don’t be afraid of a little chit-chat!
7. Go outside
A change of scenery can go a long way in getting our creative juices flowing — and where better else than outside?
Whether it’s at the local park or in the office’s gardens, your team will feel inspired and more open to collaborating. If your team works remotely, meanwhile, you could encourage them to all take a walk and meet virtually over your preferred video conferencing tool.
8. Take a field trip
Instead of simply taking your meeting to the local park, take it one step further with a field trip. Not only will this create a more relaxed and collaborative atmosphere, but it will boost your team’s creativity in the process.
Make sure to choose a destination in advance, and to arrange appropriate transportation. It’s also important to avoid strenuous activities like a 50-mile hike.
9. Keep an hourglass
Meetings often have a funny way of taking up more time than anticipated, largely due to new ideas or topics being introduced and discussed. To combat this, why not introduce an hourglass to the meeting?
Essentially, you’ll give each topic on the agenda a time limit, and once it’s up, you’ll immediately move onto the next item.
10. Create a music-listening party
This fun team meeting idea also serves as a great team-building activity!
Essentially, it involves asking participants to play their favorite songs and then discussing why they chose those songs or artists. You can take one step further, meanwhile, and turn it into a game of “name that tune”.
11. Bring your pets
If your team members are pet parents, you can invite them to bring in their furry friends to the meeting (perhaps cats one week and dogs the next). Not only will it make the meeting more enjoyable but also engaging.
Do make sure to first get the green light from your HR department before bringing pets into the meeting room (and the office in general) — and, importantly, that everyone is allergy-free.
12. Invite guest speakers
This can be a great way to change things up a bit and add some excitement to an otherwise boring meeting!
Whether it’s a business celebrity, a motivational speaker, an industry expert or the company’s CEO, inviting guest speakers will make the meeting more interactive and it will elicit more engagement from participants.
13. Create a unique team meeting tradition
Want to make team meetings something your employees look forward to? Why not introduce a unique tradition to the affair?
This can be anything from bringing a unique food item to share during the meeting to creating a secret handshake, and taking a group selfie to coming up with a closing chant. The possibilities are truly endless.
14. Gamify meetings
Another great way to make team meetings fun is through gamification — basically, find ways to make your next meeting, or at least parts of it, into a game. This could come in the form of trivia games or scavenger hunts, which can also be done virtually.
To make it worth everyone’s time, meanwhile, consider offering prizes if appropriate.
15. Change meeting topics
The annoying thing about meetings is that they usually revolve around the same subjects — every time. But this gets boring and monotonous fast, both for employees and for team leaders.
For this reason, it’s a good idea to consider changing meeting topics and incorporating topics that will help enhance your team’s overall knowledge. You can even ask their feedback for ideas.
16. Start with a brainteaser
Another strategy to make staff meetings fun is by opening them with a brainteaser (think: “How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?”, “How would you move Mount Everest?” or “How many gas stations are there in the US?”).
This is a great way to warm up people’s brains, preparing them for the meeting ahead and waking up their creativity.
17. Dress up
Okay, you don’t have to go full out for this, and you don’t have to wait for Christmas or Halloween to dress up. In fact, you can simply come up with a theme and get all participants to accessorize their normal outfits around that. (Just make sure it’s work-appropriate.)
Either way, it will liven up everyone’s mood, and it can aid in building camaraderie among your team.
18. Take a fitness class
Like mindfulness exercises, a good workout can be immensely beneficial for your team’s mental and physical health, which can boost their productivity.
Whether it’s Pilates, yoga or something a little more hardcore, a group fitness class incorporated into your next work meeting will undoubtedly be fun, while it gives people a chance to kill two birds with one stone.
19. Hold mini competitions
When it comes to fun team meeting ideas, holding mini competitions is certainly one of them. This includes armchair Olympics and word scrambles, which will convince everyone to get involved.
Like with gamifying team meetings, consider offering prizes.
20. Create a team time capsule
Yes, time capsules can be incorporated into staff meetings!
All you have to do is ask participants to contribute something, be it a newspaper, a group photo or a drawing, to put in the time capsule. And you can open it all together in a month or a year from now.
Final thoughts
Team meetings are meant to be productive and focused on achieving the goals of the department and the company. But they’re also meant to be fun and engaging.
Indeed, when the monotony of meetings is replaced with novelty and sweet memories, it can create a fun working environment where everyone feels they belong and they’re appreciated. And the fun team meeting ideas explored in this article can help you achieve just that.
What fun things do you do for team meetings? Share your ideas with us in the comments section below.
This article is a complete update of an earlier version originally published in 2018.