Ah the annual staff meeting.
At worst a time when everyone in the room wonders why they are really there while passing their time by idly playing with their smartphone and much is said but little registers.
But get it right and you have an inspiring and motivating event which can boost morale and increase productivity.
Getting the balance between serious and fun is tricky, so how can you put together an event which is worthwhile, rewarding and enjoyable?
We have put together seven tips to breathe new life into the annual staff meeting:
Interview
A typical annual meeting usually includes the chief executive giving a presentation on the successes of the previous year and the hopes and targets for the coming 12 months.
Obviously, some will be more natural speakers than others and no matter how experienced they are it can be a lonely and nerve wracking proposition. It can also be very predictable for the audience.
One way to breathe new life into this format would be for a member of staff or an outside facilitator like a journalist to interview the boss.
Not only does this create a new relaxed, interactive feel but it can also help to create a sense of transparency, trust and openness.
Time
One of the great distractions during a staff meeting is a fear proceedings are over-running. If delegates sense it is running late they will become distracted by thoughts of what train they will be getting home, whether they need to arrange childcare and so on, rather than the messages the organisation is trying to get across.
For the event organisers, worries will include ensuring the full range of topics of the agenda are still covered properly and speakers are able to make their presentations.
The key is to have a confident and capable compère for the event.
This doesn’t necessarily have to be a professional compère but, as a minimum, the person should have received relevant communications training to ensure they know the ropes. The role may involve time management, steering the agenda to ensure the full range of topics are covered, managing any conflict or contentious questions, encouraging audience participation and managing 'tumbleweed’ moments.
If that feels like a daunting role, our journalist tutors are ideally placed to help prepare them for this role. Not only do they regularly host large scale events but they also constantly work to tight deadlines.
Questions
Often delegates tell us they fear taking questions from the floor during a public speaking engagement. This is generally a fear of losing control and not being able to answer a particular question.
But allowing audience questions is a great way to involve people, create interaction and to reinforce key points.
Our media and presentations training courses show people how to handle difficult questions effectively, through techniques such as bridging, and remain in control of proceedings. And it works for questions from presentation audiences just as well as journalists.
Tell stories
Your organisation will undoubtedly have important targets, initiatives and policies it wants to get across during the annual meeting.
The best way to ensure they stand-out and are memorable is to make them human through anecdotes, examples and stories which involve people. Perhaps something is being introduced as a result of a conversation with a particular customer – give the audience the details.
Stories will bring your messages to life and can also help settle down any nervous presenters.
Effective message development training can really help here.
Consider using an autocue
No-one has come along to the annual meeting to hear bosses read from slides. This approach will quickly lose attention and lead to frustration.
Of course, on the other hand, presenters may not feel confident enough to present without them.
One answer is to use an autocue. Our current working journalist tutors regularly guide public speakers through the best way to use autocues, which are becoming increasingly common in the corporate world.
This enables spokespeople to use an autocue without actually looking like they are reading. But it is also important to remember the systems can be used as prompts and do not have to be followed verbatim.
Avoid death by PowerPoint
No-one is saying don’t use slides, but they should be used sparingly and only where they add real value.
In the same way that no-one comes to a meeting to hear speakers read aloud, they equally don’t expect to have to read huge paragraphs of text themselves. This will only serve to turn the audience off and distract them from what you are saying.
Instead of text heavy slides, opt for ones which show the odd headline statistic or tag line which will support and underline your message.
Good animations, photography and cartoons will also add colour.
Practice
Just like a good media interview or speech, annual staff meetings need thorough preparation. And this should include a rehearsal of the event.
Each speaker should give their presentation and feedback needs to be given about whether it should be longer, shorter, perhaps needs more examples, less slides. It is also important to check they are comfortable with equipment such as microphones and computers to display their slides.
Whoever is leading or chairing the event needs to ensure they announce each speaker and subject in the right order.
Also, pay attention to the details. If you are taking questions from the floor how will you ensure those people can be heard? Will you have a roving microphone? Have you appointed people to that role?
A well-presented and choreographed annual meeting, which offers the audience something slightly different, can be a great way to motivate and inspire teams.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Click here to find out more about our highly practical Media training and presentation training courses.
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