Let's face it many or all of us have been part of an unproductive meeting. And there are plenty of reasons meetings get off topic or lack focus. Important meetings can be derailed from having a positive impact, and some of those reasons are listed below.

• Lack of structure - no agenda or one lacking clarity
• Lack of guidelines - no set meeting rules
• Lack of perspective - not the correct set of attendees
• Lack of information - not enough information provided ahead of the meeting
• Lack of time - not enough time scheduled to cover information in detail

Most meetings suffer from one or more of the listed conditions. The question becomes, how do we change this and make meetings more productive and outcome focused? We need to apply unconventional methods of meeting with one another and small groups.

Things To Try

• Offsite Meetings - Think about scheduling a team meeting somewhere other than your typical work environment. This can help spark conversation on areas team members may feel too pressured to openly discuss at the office. Offsite meetings can also up team member engagement with a new and stimulating environment. By moving the entire team offsite from time to time, you can add interest and creativity into your meeting.
  
  
• Moving Meetings - This approach is perhaps best for one on one meetings or two to three people maximum. A moving meeting is a meeting where you physically move around during the meeting time. You can try walking around inside or outside of your normal working space. By moving around you are stimulating your mind and may see or hear something that sparks a new perspective or solution.
  
  
• Transport Meetings - This doesn't mean that the whole team piles into a car and drives around during the meeting. The focus of a transport meeting is to change locations mid-meeting to shake things up. You may start out in conference room, but maybe moving the team to an informal collaboration space like the kitchen or the lobby would add a comfortable dynamic. It may be as simple as starting the meeting inside and than walking outside to enjoy the weather outside while thinking through potential solutions.
  
  
• Standing Room Only Meetings - These meetings should be kept to no more than 15 to 20 minutes. Everyone at this meeting should stay standing the entire time. This approach focuses on people staying engaged without opening their tablets or laptops during the meeting. This type of meeting is great for quick status check-ins or just informing the team of some important information. It is important to keep these meetings within the given time frame to ensure team members do not disengage. Everyone can enjoy a short meeting that only covers the necessary material.
  
  
• Catch & Release Meetings - This approach may eliminate the meeting completely, but not always. The catch and release method means you check in with team members ahead of the scheduled meeting to see if having the meeting would still add value to each team member. If they feel the meeting should be rescheduled, moving the meeting may help productivity instead of having a meeting seems redundant or rushed.

I hope that you can find one or more of these unconventional meeting methods beneficial to your team. You may be surprised by the value new meeting formats add to the team and company.