Partner Article

The engagement age: making meetings matter

Foreword

Meetings are the lifeblood of every organisation.

They are the nexus point where participants can come together, each with their own contribution to make, and deliver something special as a team. Where individual contributions become greater than the sum of their parts, and solo voices become a choir.

But if meetings really are the lifeblood, why is that blood stream so clogged up?

Let’s face it: everyone in every walk of life has at some point looked at their calendars and shuddered at the prospect of a meeting that has to be sat through.

Meetings should be engaging, involving, your chance to play your part in furthering the success of your organisation.

But in reality, people fear that meetings will be tedious.

People are convinced that they are going to take too long.

Participants in meetings feel that being there with their colleagues is actually keeping them away from doing something more productive.

And most of all, people really, really hope they’re not going to be asked to present!

In an age of collaborative working, that’s a mindset that’s an issue for any organisation. The end result is a lack of enthusiasm, lack of motivation and lack of productivity.

In a connected world, a connected economy and a connected workforce, it’s vital that meetings become the collaborative resource that they need to be.

It’s time to make meetings matter again!

Mundane meetings

In January, Sharp carried out research on workplace meetings with 2,163 office workers, split between UK, Spain, Sweden, Germany, France and Netherlands. The results make for depressing reading and confirm the importance of facing up to the problem.

Some 86% of respondents say they spend up to five hours a week in meetings, but 11 percent reckon that number can be as high as ten hours.

Given that this is a sizeable chunk of time out of a working week - more than half a day - it’s clearly important that such meetings deliver value and add to the productivity of the organisation.

The bad news is: for most people, they just don’t!

Only 16% of people would describe the meetings they have at work as “inspiring” while 79% of workers would rather be somewhere else where they believe they would be more productive.

In fact, ten percent of people have found some meetings so tedious that they’ve invented a reason to get up and leave the room.

Among those who’ve stuck it out, there’s no reason to believe that they’re actually paying attention and focusing their minds on the matter at hand.

A third of us spend between 25-50% of the time that they are supposed to be watching a presentation thinking about something else while 12% actually spend almost all - 75-100% - of the presentation with their mind elsewhere.

But at least they’re paying attention some of the time - unlike the nine percent of respondents who will admit to having fallen asleep during a work presentation.

Given human nature, it’s tempting to wonder just how many more really have but aren’t prepared to admit it. At least a third of respondents reckon they’ve spotted someone else nodding off!

What’s the problem?

There are a number of things that cause people to switch off when they’re watching a presentation. These are the top three complaints.

They’re just too long - cited by 55% of respondents. The presenters just aren’t interesting enough - cited by 48% of respondents. The content just isn’t inspiring enough - cited by 43%.

These are all issues that need to be addressed by those managing meetings or giving presentations.

More problematic is the belief among those participating in meetings that their attendance isn’t adding a great deal to the proceedings and that they are there to listen rather than to contribute.

Fewer than half of respondents - 42% - think the meetings they have at work are genuinely collaborative events with 57% reckoning that one person will dominate proceedings and talk too much, resulting in the meeting becoming a one way transmission.

If organisations are trying to encourage a collaborative working environment that taps into the potential of everyone involved, this perception is clearly a barrier to achieving that goal.

Ironically the willingness to participate collaboratively is there.

A majority of respondents - 58% - think that meetings would be better if everyone was more able to get involved, while a fifth of respondents say they have actively wanted to say something during a meeting but have not been given the chance to do so. In fact, 17% of respondents make the point that one of their reasons for disliking presentations is the lack of opportunity to ask questions!

Improvement on the agenda

So how can an organisation resolve this current disillusionment with the meetings process?

Some points should be relatively simple to address, but do require presenters to admit to shortcomings in their own approach and delivery.

For example, if the top complaint is that meetings are too long, then they must be shortened. But that demands better agenda management on the part of the meeting organiser and a refusal to let presenters outstay their welcome.

If a presenter or the content is not felt to be inspiring, that’s a more difficult one. Coaching and presentational training could be obtained of course. (It’s interesting to note that nearly three quarters of respondents have been given no training on how to run a meeting successfully. Lack of investment in this respect appears to be paying its own sorry dividends.)

Training issues aside, it’s clear that having better tools to support content delivery would make a positive contribution to addressing many issues surrounding the inability to hold the audience’s attention.

If a meeting is conducted with a presenter, a slide deck and a flip chart at the front of the room, it’s starting from a low base to begin with.

Nor does the use of a simple laptop plugged into a projector meet the demands of respondents. It requires setting up, it’s difficult to use and inevitably there’s always a cable missing that delays proceedings and increases the boredom levels.

In an age of social media, multimedia and tablet computing, any audience expects more when it comes to receiving and retaining information.

Successful, imaginative, engaging meetings demand successful, imaginative, engaging approaches to content delivery.

Only then will meetings no more be mundane.

The BIG PAD solution

Sharp’s BIG PAD technology enables organisations to overcome ‘mundane meeting’ syndrome, allowing groups to collaborate on ideas in meetings and speeding up tasks which require input from multiple people, by using one highly engaging interactive whiteboard.

The latest release includes:

Multi touch and multi-user capabilities

Letting people work together, the new BIG PAD lets up to four users write simultaneously, using wirelessly connected touch pens which can identify each pen’s profile, including chosen pen colour. The screen, which has improved resistance against fingerprints, scratches and reflection, can now recognise up to ten touch points at once.

Better writing experience

To ensure a smooth and natural writing style, the wirelessly connected touch pens come with an integrated pressure sensor on the pen tip for increased user control. Easier operability has also been achieved with the addition of three button controls, including a “Page forward/back” button.

Instant usability

Quicker power-on means that the new BIG PAD is ready to use instantly after it is switched on (from standby mode), perfect for spontaneous meetings or group work. In addition, newly embedded functions are available without the need to connect to an external PC, including an integrated white board feature, a pre-programmed presentation mode and easily accessible media player.

The new BIG PAD also includes a new Touch Menu on the front bezel, so that input switching and volume control can be changed quickly at the device, as well as with a remote control. It also includes new front speakers for greater sound clarity.

Easy data sharing

To help teams collaborate wherever they are, BIG PAD makes data sharing easy and wireless, with Touch Display Link Software 2.0. This allows all information to be shared between BIG PAD and a tablet or PC, as well as via other offices and locations, within a company’s local area network.

Greater connectivity

Two series of input terminals are now provided to connect BIG PAD to almost any other AV or PC device.

Some tips from the professionals

While technology can provide new tools to enable better content delivery and collaboration, there are still human factors that need to be taken into account. With that mind, here are some top tips from experienced presenters.

“Like the foundations of a house, the beginning and end of your speech will determine whether your message stands strong or collapses. Spend time crafting a powerful opener that has an immediate impact and draws your audience in, and finish on a positive, emotive ending that not only encapsulates your argument, but leaves them with an inspirational feeling they won’t forget.” Lucie Sarif - Associate Director of Little Miss Geek & Head of Strategy & Planning at Lady Geek, @lsarif @ladygeek www.ladygeek.com

“All great presentations have a clear purpose which should be audience-focussed; they should be well-structured and clearly signposted; they should have an intellectual thread of steel running through them; and finally, like a good story, they should have a clear beginning middle and end.” Francis Ingham - Director General of the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA).

“When constructing your speech think about the three main elements: Preparation, Structure and Style. Preparation and Structure will help you organise your thoughts, whereas Style is what happens on the day in the room.” Jeremy Jacobs - Presenter, Speaker and Event Host - http://www.jeremyjacobs.com

“No picture chart or slideshow will save your presentation if you aren’t confident in what you are saying. Connect with your audience, talk to them, not at them. Most importantly show that you actually care about what you are talking about, if you are interested and engaging, they will be too.” Dickie Arbiter LVO - Former Press Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II and media manager for Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana - http://www.dickiearbiter.co.uk/

“Break your speech down into less daunting bite-size chunks, each no more than, say, 2-4 minutes and deliver them as if separate mini-speeches. Rehearse (performing, not just reading) to a friend. The more you rehearse the less nervous you will be. If you rehearse alone, do it out loud, to the mirror.” Michael Parker - PitchCoach - www.pitchcoach.co.uk

“Avoid meaningless clichés, corporate-speak and tired old gags (or any gags, if you don’t know how to tell them). Prepare thoroughly and try out the presentation in advance, but only in front of critical colleagues - and don’t over-rehearse. Never be afraid to run under time - Q&A almost always commands more audience attention than a straight presentation.” Jeremy Lee - founder of JLA, The UK’s leading speaker bureau.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sharp Europe .