Hello... is anyone there? Teleconferences with Outcomes

I prepared a quick e-book for a client today who needed some simple guidelines to shift the way her team run teleconferences. 

This is not about the technical set up of invites and booking rooms and all that hoo-ha. 

Rather it's about a few principles the team can follow every time they are connected by the phone line. And we've only been doing that for 130 years - so no wonder we sometimes need to revisit a few of our techniques!

For her project team, she wanted to break the belief that : just because people can't see each other, doesn't mean you can't take visual notes or use a flip chart to capture the conversation. You can send it after the meeting. 

Additionally, her team's meetings were 'rush-fests'. Everyone rushing in and rushing out. Not enough focus on clarity. Clarity saves time in the long run. Clarity trumps speed. So s-l-o-w down; allow time. 

So I share a few tips to help you get some better outcomes from your phone hook-ups too. 

Please don't throw lollies

Please don't throw lollies. I can walk over and pick them up out of the plastic packet all by myself. Look, watch me, I can.

*Cringe*  I was in a training session last week – or perhaps that should read, ‘boring presentation’ by a presenter who introduced the topic by saying ‘Now I hope you all don’t ‘fall asleep’ during this!’

So there we were, looking forward to a boring presentation and the opportunity of falling asleep. Before the presenter spoke, she held up a large bargain bulk bag of lollies and sang in Mary Poppins style “I have lolllliiiieeeeeesssss!”

“I’ve got bribes!’ she further explained! “This will keep you awake!”

As if a bag of lollies is going to make my interest levels peak through 32 mind-numbing PowerPoint slides in a darkened room. What did peak was my blood sugar level, just by looking at the pink and yellow shapes inside the bag.

Why isn’t she trying to make that presentation more interesting, engaging and helpful? Why isn’t it more palatable than the cheap lollies?

She delivered the presentation. She never needed the lollies. It cheapened the presentation; it lowered the professionalism and it made us feel like we needed to listen or we’d be very naughty. We are adults you know. So are you, presenter.

Some people I have consulted and worked with argue that you need damn good coffee and pastries to get people to some presentations. But surely you don’t need to throw lolllies at us when we look bored!

‘Oh but it’s FUN!’ shouted Amy from the Learning and Design team. ‘Lighten up! It’s fun! You’re too serious!’

It wasn’t fun for Gavin from Accounts who sat in the accident and emergency department waiting room with his eye bleeding out of its socket. No, Gavin wasn’t laughing when a bullet hard lemon barley sugar with kiddy wrap went flying through his left eye. The visual, yes that’s a laugh. The Safety Team said ‘No more throwing lollies. You may hand them around.’

If you want your session, meeting, presentation or training to be fun you don’t need to throw lollies at me or anyone else. What you do need to do is design the session with engaging activities, designed for the purpose, designed for the people in the room. They’re called an audience. Even better when you call them ‘participants’.

What are you doing to make your meetings, conversations, workshops and learning experiences creative, collaborative, engaging and transformative?

*Gavin isn’t his real name. And he didn’t need to go to Accident and Emergency either. He’s ok. 

Three short whistles for 'up'

There's a large crane onsite at a housing construction site nearby today. 

While the set-up and set-down of concrete slabs and wooden piles can be a visual distraction, it's the auditory, the sounds, that are getting my attention. 

There's great deal of trust, communication, cooperation, focus and engagement that's required among the team - all conveyed via hand signals and ... a little silver whistle!

One long whistle... 'lower'

One short whistle... 'stop'

Three short whistles ... 'up'

With this quick visual guide I was off and running, watching what was happening, learning quickly from the visuals on the guide and confirming via the sounds I was hearing.  

What auditory or sound signals do you give the people in your team? (applause, cheers, verbal confirmation or encouragement, verbal rewards...)

What quick visual guides do you use so that people are up to speed quickly on what to do, when, and how? (noticeboards, flyers, post-it notes, big picture visions, the visual storyboard, process maps, status or kanban boards...)

Keep it simple. No need for big bucks, fancy design and a mega-production with massive timelines! 

What simple tools can you use to convey information and engage quickly and clearly today?

One long, two short whistles ... slew (or veer) right!

The Anatomy of a Collaborative Workshop

The 60 second timelapse video embedded on my webpage here captured a full day workshop I facilitated recently.

But what was really going on?

Have a second look or press pause and you'll see a number of things happened...

Big Paper for BIG Ideas

in the background against the wall there are long paper charts. I use these to graphic facilitate - that is, I facilitate the group AND capture the key content the group is contributing using words and images on the chart.

You'll see a second chart to the left which I'm darting back and forth to at the start. I used this chart when everyone in the session was introducing themselves. This served as a great anchor for the participants to bring them 'into the room' and onto the story wall that was being completed during the workshop. 

Talk and Do

Throughout the workshop there were segements where participants were discussing in tables, contributing as a larger group and standing at the front of the room, reporting back from their table discussions. Keeping the variety going throughout the day is vital. We mixed up the table groups too - by the end of the day, there had been a real mixing and meeting of minds and views. 

As groups reported back, I captured key points presented... knowing that we also had the more detailed content from the groups when needed. 

Break Time

When the room is empty, the teams are just outside the room, enjoying conversation, networking, food, refreshments and a change of 'state'. That gives people space to be alone, be in small groups, be in bigger groups, and space to think, talk, review, reflect, brainstorm, laugh and ... whatever!

Standing

It's important to structure your agenda so you do important work when the team is high on energy. The after-lunch slot in a workshop can be a little quieter (with lunch being digested!) so some standing, moving and quick discussions can help keep the interest, energy and engagement up. 

Resources at the Ready

The room was set up for collaboration. Tables for small group conversation and discussion and working on stuff. The tables had paper, markers and post-it notes to capture thoughts, information, ideas and discussions. There were blank walls, flip chart pages posted ready for use and markers available to capture visual thinking. 

And there were yummy food resources provided on the tables - few sweet treats, mainly nuts and dried fruits and healthier energy choices. 

Start & Finish

The workshop featured a brief introduction by the sponsor of the event from the business and a wrap up of 'where to next'. I also talked through a review and summary of the content of the two large visual charts. 

So if we pressed 'record' on your next workshop, meeting or conversation - how much variety, collaboration and creative engagement would the video capture? Think ahead and plan for your team sessions. My whitepaper 'The 7 Problems with Strategy and Team Sessions' is available for download further down the same page where the video is. It's got some hints you can get happening straight away when planning your next strategy session. 

Allow warm-up time

It was a Friday night and the live band started playing in front of the audience. I remember one person in our group of friends said to me ‘come on, get into it’ ... as in, 'start enjoying yourself now, would you?!'
 
But the music had only just started and it was taking me a little while to get over the busy Friday at work, the phone calls and conversations and to ease in to the evening of socialising and entertainment. I couldn’t ‘get into it’ at the click of her fingers. I needed time to shift from one environment to another.
 
The same happens when you bring people together for a meeting, conversation, workshop or discussion. You can’t announce ‘start collaborating..... now!’ or 'OK folks, come up with your best ideas - now!’
 
Too often I see team or workshop leaders who haven't created a suitable environment or allowed time to help people ‘get into it’. 

So when you bring a team together, do these things:
 

• Refresh and shift. Help people get out of the environment they've just been in. Offer a cool drink, a hot tea, tell a story, ask how they are...

• For the set up and opening, take it slow. If you rush now, you won't get the best out of the group. The group will achieve more with a great environment where it’s comfortable to participate. And yes, sometimes this is anti-rush; people rush in to a workshop or meeting and will want to rush out; that doesn't mean your session needs to be a rush too. Set the tone, pace and environment.

• Explain: why they are there, what's the purpose, what's the outcome you're driving towards, what's the bigger picture, what you're hoping to get from them. 

• Give the group clarity about what will happen in this session. 'We'll hear from Tim about the history of the project, then move on to discussion about the obstacles getting in the way, then identify what we can do to meet the customer needs on the service'. A few points on an agenda, a process outlined or a structure for the session is crucial. This helps people settle in.

And throughout the band's set of songs, I certainly ‘got into it’, singing along, dancing, cheering and applauding. Woo hoo!

At the end, the musicians didn’t rush off the stage. And nor should you or your team. The band waved, thanked, cheered, clapped the audience and bowed. Make sure you wind up, close and wrap up the session or workshop – spend time at this stage so that actions are clear, next steps are articulated and people are acknowledged. 

Avoid the 'rushed meeting of the invisibles' as I call it: strangers in a cold environment, rushing to try and make wonderful things happen. It won't happen.

Spend time to set the scene and help people shift - the investment will be worth it.