Ten Ways to Increase Group Participation in Team Meetings

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

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 feedback or with a phone call to 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 in the ground rules of the team. 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 start 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 be 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 question “what’s in it for me” and encourages your help in achieving the best meeting results.
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 anyone’s questions or input to be discounted – everyone can add value, even 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 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 focus and participate. Whereas if the meetings are right 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 some of the different ideas in the following meetings.

Consider and choose different ways to increase participation in meetings. Another often suggested idea 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.