Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio. Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to inject moments of delight into your meetings. These moments can spark engagement and creativity and give people something positive to remember about their time together. Frankly, anything that makes meetings better is a big win in my book.
Today's tip comes from my interview with Rebecca Hines for this podcast. Rebecca is an expert on organizational behavior and has a special interest in meetings. In our conversation, Rebecca recommended injecting at least one moment of delight into every meeting, even if it's just a five-second moment. Delight is this very interesting combination of joy and surprise, she said.
The surprise makes people think differently, as she put it, and remember these moments of delight. Now, you may be wondering exactly how you were supposed to squeeze delight into your already packed agenda and how you were supposed to come up with something delightful when the meeting itself might be serious business. But this really doesn't have to be so hard.
For instance, Rebecca suggested shout outs and what she called peer-to-peer recognition, which she said is especially powerful. So you praise John for the insightful research he did for your last project. Or even better, Marie praises John for his research because it made the presentation she gave about the project so much better. You, the organizer, sit there and delight in all of this.
Rebecca also suggested bringing a snack to share, ideally something that is personally significant. If your brainstorming sessions in college were fueled by Doritos, bring them for a brainstorming session at work and explain that they led to your best ideas.
If your mom always made Rice Krispie treats on the first day of school, bring them for the kickoff meeting for a big project and explain why. If you are worried about the junk food factor, well, snacks can be healthy too. Like fresh strawberries to kick off your summer planning season. I'd be happy to be at that meeting.
When you're considering how to bring in delight, keep in mind that you are aiming to leave a lasting positive impression, as Rebecca put it. I love this idea. Sometimes meetings are dull. Sometimes they are intense. But rarely are they delightful.
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Chapter 2: What strategies can I use to inject moments of delight into meetings?
Intentionally building in a moment of delight seems like a great way to add a little positivity and energy to your meetings. It's also completely doable. Even a simple moment could make a big difference. So the next time you are responsible for planning or leading a meeting, consider where you could add some delight.
In addition to Rebecca's suggestions of shout-outs and significant snacks, consider Here are some other ideas.
Chapter 3: How can moments of delight enhance engagement and creativity?
In your presentation, you might use photos, art, or other images that speak to the topic of the meeting. PowerPoint isn't just for text. A good cartoon could make the meeting a little lighter. As an icebreaker at the beginning of the meeting, invite the participants to share something personally significant that connects to your topic.
For instance, if you're leading a Parents Association leadership team meeting for an elementary school, you could ask everyone to share a memory of delight or belonging from their own elementary school years. You can also add delight to a meeting through intentional seating.
In lieu of place cards, have something personally significant to your attendees at each seat so that people can find their places and then explain to the group how they knew that seat was theirs. For example, you could have a coloring book page of a chicken for someone who keeps chickens.
a first-place ribbon for the person who got first place in your company's bake-off last year, a cat sticker for the cat lover in your group, and so forth. Now, obviously, this takes time. And I know a lot of people are just running from one meeting to another. But in general, in life, it's better to have fewer meetings, but better ones.
And Rebecca notes that if you are trying to have fewer meetings, you want the meetings you do have to be deeply human. Moments of delight contribute to that and just might add energy and creativity to the mix too. If you try adding moments of delight to your meetings, I'd love to hear how you do it. You can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening. And here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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Chapter 4: What are some practical examples of moments of delight in meetings?
On Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guests, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.
Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the Enhanced Games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.