Kickstart your meeting with a warm-up exercise

If everyone contributes at the beginning of a meeting it is more likely that they will contribute more throughout.

Regardless of the meeting you are running, it will never be particularly productive if no one contributes. That's why it's important to engage the participants early on.

Warm-up exercises in meetings can be compared to playing ball for 10 minutes with your team before a game:

• You get to know your teammates
• It gives you time to prepare mentally
• It prevents injuries
• It kickstarts your heart and gets the circulation going

That being said, it's not necessarily so that the rest of your group wants to wake up to Mötley Crüe every time they walk into the room.

All it takes is one word

Early participation is key.

People are often in a zone when they are by their desk doing specific tasks. The danger of jumping right into a meeting is that your mind is set on the tasks you were previously doing. Especially if you didn't have time to finish what you started.

By starting out with a warm-up exercise you will create a loose and informal atmosphere where everyone feel comfortable and ready for valueable discussions and creative thinking.

Create high performance meetings and teams

For teams to perform and communicate well, it is vital to create common ground and trust between the members.

These are the fundamentals of team performance, and the same rules apply to meetings in general.

You can boost common ground and trust by running warm-up exercises that are focused on getting to know one-another better.

Know your customer

A common mistake is running warm-up exercises without informing why. It is very important to explain the importance and relevance - especially if they can be perceived as childish.

The exercise can have the opposite effect and create less engagement if your team fails to see the point of it.

As a facilitator it is important to decide which exercises are appropriate for your target audience. We recommend gathering feedback continuously so you can build a reporturar that works.

What's in it for me?

• Mix it up and create a fun work environment 🙌
• Make everyone participate 🤚
• Whether you are a new or an experienced team, you will learn to know each other (even) better ✔️
• ..hence boosting your teams performance through increased trust and common ground 📈
• It takes little to no time ⏳💰

Be on the lookout for upcoming posts about warm-up exercises and follow us on LinkedIn for insights on how you can improve your teams performance.

Picture: https://unsplash.com/photos/01YEw52KGhM
Picture 2: https://unsplash.com/photos/mY2ZHBU6GRk