How do you keep cross-team meetings engaging and fun while still achieving the objectives?

1 Know your purpose

Before you schedule a cross-team meeting, make sure you have a clear and specific purpose for it. What are the goals, outcomes, and deliverables of the meeting? How does it align with the overall project or strategy? Who are the key stakeholders and decision-makers? How will you measure the success of the meeting? Having a clear purpose will help you design a relevant and focused agenda, invite the right people, and communicate the expectations and benefits of the meeting.

2 Mix it up

One way to keep cross-team meetings engaging and fun is to mix up the format, structure, and activities of the meeting. Instead of sticking to the same old PowerPoint slides, lecture, or Q&A, try to incorporate different methods of interaction, such as brainstorming, breakout rooms, polls, games, or simulations. You can also use different tools and platforms, such as whiteboards, sticky notes, chat, or video, to enhance the collaboration and creativity of the participants. Mixing it up will help you break the monotony, spark new ideas, and cater to different learning styles and preferences.

3 Involve everyone

Another way to keep cross-team meetings engaging and fun is to involve everyone in the meeting, not just the presenter or the leader. Make sure everyone has a chance to contribute, share, and ask questions, and that their opinions and feedback are valued and respected. You can also assign roles and responsibilities to different participants, such as facilitator, note-taker, timekeeper, or devil's advocate, to keep them engaged and accountable. Involving everyone will help you build trust, rapport, and ownership among the cross-team members.

4 Keep it short and sweet

One of the biggest challenges of cross-team meetings is to keep them short and sweet, especially when you have multiple topics, perspectives, and agendas to cover. However, long and tedious meetings can drain the energy, attention, and motivation of the participants, and lead to diminishing returns. To keep your cross-team meetings short and sweet, try to limit them to 30 minutes or less, or break them into smaller sessions if necessary. You can also use timers, agendas, and ground rules to keep the meeting on track, and avoid unnecessary distractions, tangents, or repetitions.

5 Follow up and follow through

The last tip to keep cross-team meetings engaging and fun is to follow up and follow through after the meeting. Don't let the meeting end without a clear summary, action plan, and next steps for each participant. Send out a recap email or document that highlights the key points, decisions, and tasks from the meeting, and ask for feedback and suggestions for improvement. You can also use a project management tool or a shared folder to track the progress and status of the action items, and celebrate the achievements and milestones along the way.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?