Mindful Meeting Pros is increasingly being used in business settings for its benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving productivity, igniting creativity and fostering teamwork.
With more remote workers than ever before, and events like COVID-19 increasing stress levels among the corporate workforce, it’s becoming more important to incorporate mindfulness into meetings. Here are a few mindful meeting practices that can help your remote teams navigate the challenges of virtual meetings and increase teamwork.
1. Intention setting
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Intention setting is a mindful meeting MMP practice for remote teams that involves getting clear upfront about the outcome you want to achieve. This enables you to align your actions with your goals and increases your focus on what matters most.
Taking a more thoughtful approach to goal setting tends to boost resilience and drive success. Seeing the big picture and establishing an emotional investment in your goal are two ways to make this happen.
Whether you’re working on a big project or simply trying to keep up with your day-to-day responsibilities, incorporating intentional setting into your routine can help boost productivity and creativity. By focusing on what matters most, you can increase your ability to get more done in less time, which can help you achieve your goals more quickly.
2. No-device rule
One of the most important elements in a successful remote or hybrid team Meeting Planners is the proper setting. A well designed room layout will make your team more productive and happy while reducing noise, clutter and stress. Having a designated workspace for each member of the team is a must. Using a whiteboard or a large canvas to draw up notes, share ideas and scribble down to-do lists will go a long way toward keeping everyone on track. Creating an office space branded with your company’s branding will help ensure you and your colleagues are on the same page and less likely to fall out of sync.
A no-device rule might sound counterintuitive, but it’s often a necessity to keep your team focused on the task at hand. A no-device rule could be as simple as requiring a passcode to open the door and as complex as prohibiting use of your company’s AV equipment during meetings.
3. Active listening
Mindful Corporate Meeting Planners listening is a vital skill that helps you understand and empathize with others. It also builds trust and creates a more respectful work environment.
Listening skills are often in short supply when teams work remotely, but teaching mindful listening techniques can help improve communication and encourage positive team culture.
Active listening involves several components, including paraphrasing and clarifying the content of the speaker’s message. It also involves observing non-verbal communication, such as body language.
Another helpful active listening technique is to ask open-ended questions. These questions invite thoughtful, expansive responses that show the other person you are paying attention.
4. Taking notes
Whether it’s an in-person meeting or a call-in, notes are an important part of ensuring everyone’s on the same page. This keeps conversations flowing, prevents information from slipping through the cracks, and gives direction to teammates to make their best work possible.
To take effective meeting notes, prepare for the session in advance and set a template that suits your needs. Create an agenda of the key points, desired outcomes, and actions to be taken.
Whenever an action item is proposed in the meeting, write down who it’s assigned to, who will follow up, and when it needs to be completed by. This will ensure everyone knows their responsibilities and can track progress in real time.
5. Taking a break
Team members need to de-stress and recharge during meetings, whether it’s because they’re feeling overwhelmed or are in the midst of a big information dump. Providing them with a meeting break will allow them to take time for themselves, distress and refresh before the next section of the meeting.
Taking a break doesn’t have to be a long process, but it can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve productivity and spark creativity. Taking breaks during meetings may also alleviate burnout, which can lead to lower performance and lower employee morale.
Conclusion
Another mindful meeting practice is to ask team members to speak slowly and deliberately, without interrupting. This will reduce the number of times people say things that don’t mean anything or talk over each other, and will help teammates focus on what they need to discuss during the meeting.
