Ten ways to increase group participation in team meetings

Leaders have found that meetings in which team members openly communicate about business issues and engage in problem solving produce better results than those in which people sit back and listen. There are different levels of participation in the meetings; the most desirable is a fully interactive environment. Voting in a meeting to make decisions is one level of participation, but decisions by consensus or committed construction result in more active participation. When meetings require more participation, there are a few things a leader can choose to increase group engagement and member engagement.

1. Get their input on the agenda items before the meeting. This can be done outside of the meeting by sending the proposed agenda in an email requesting comments or by calling each person after sending it. Another way to get their input is to always plan the next meeting agenda together at the end of each meeting.
2. Encourage active participation by writing it into the team’s ground rules. Co-creating ground rules and posting them at all meetings will emphasize the need for full participation.
3. Use short icebreakers or team-building exercises at the beginning of meetings to get people talking right away. Icebreakers help team members get to know each other and increase comfort levels. Group or pair exercises can be related to a problem within the team to overcome or to the main topic of the meeting.
4. Always explain the purpose of the meeting and inform members and how it affects them or their work. This helps the meeting answer the “what’s in it for me” question and encourages your help to get the best results out of the meeting.
5. When brainstorming in the meeting, always use the brainstorming technique in turns. This technique ensures that everyone takes turns contributing until most people start to run out of ideas.
6. Create a safe and respectful environment for the open exchange of ideas and opinions. One way to do this is to never allow one person’s questions or input to be discounted: everyone can add value, even the devil’s advocate.
7. Use structured activities or processes when solving problems to focus everyone on equal participation. This includes taking visible notes of what is said during meetings because seeing their thoughts captured lets members know that their contributions are valuable and encourages others to build on what they see and hear in the meeting.
8. For any meeting topic that warrants discussion, plan extra time for everyone to have 2-3 minutes of conversation each. Be sure to encourage everyone to share thoughts, opinions, pros, and cons during the discussion time.
9. Consider changing meeting times to wake up the group. If you always meet after lunch, people may be too tired to concentrate and participate. Whereas if meetings are just before lunch, people may be too hungry to think and interact properly.
10. Ask the group for ideas to make the meeting more interactive. Members may have a particular exercise they want to try or techniques they have used before that the team can benefit from. Be sure to try out some of the different ideas at future meetings.

Consider and choose different ways to increase participation in meetings. Another idea often suggested to increase participation is to provide treats or food during meetings. Refreshments at a meeting can encourage attendance, but remember that attendance does not mean active participation. For active participation in problem solving and decision making, leaders must create an environment in which team members feel comfortable communicating and participating.