Often, meetings feel harried. Team members are coming into the meeting directly after another meeting, and often with no chance to prepare. Because of the rush, many people aren’t fully focused and able to perform at their best.
If we take our team through a short process to give them a minute to re-focus, we will benefit from the time spent and be more productive.
I’ll be candid. The first time I suggested this to a senior level team, I was concerned they might think it was ridiculous. To my surprise they all expressed how helpful it was to take a few minutes to relax, reset, and ready themselves for our time together.
Here are a few ideas to spend just two minutes grounding and focusing our team at the beginning of a meeting:
1. Enjoy a two-minute meditation.
This beautiful, short, and work-friendly meditation was introduced to me by Michelle Zamperetti of Zamperetti Consulting:
- Play the meditation video via your computer or phone. The team does not need to see the video, they only need to hear the audio.
- If you are in person, consider turning off the lights and/or inviting people to close their eyes.
- If you are on a video conference, invite people to turn off their cameras.
2. Pay attention to your senses
In a previous blog, Theresa Ward and Shelton Davis of Empathy Labs, provide instructions for allowing people a few minutes to focus on each sense: sight, smell, touch, and sound. For instructions, go to that blog.
3. Facilitate a two-minute guided breathing exercise.
This simple video guides your team through a simple 2-minute breathing exercise to calm and ground listeners. Follow the tips in the meditation for this exercise as well.
Not only are these helpful for your team, you can use these anytime you need to calm and center yourself. The beauty is they only take 2-minutes and they are extremely effective.
Summary
In just two minutes at the beginning of your meeting, you can help your team to refocus and relax, setting the stage for a more productive and enjoyable meeting.
About the Author: Leigh Ann Rodgers, Founder of Better Teams, Team Consultant Academy, and FORWARD, is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator with 20 years of experience in the human development field. Leigh Ann is a skilled meeting facilitator, trainer, and coach working across the globe to help leaders cultivate teams that are happy and high-performing.
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