team meeting presentation ideas

Work Life is Atlassian’s flagship publication dedicated to unleashing the potential of every team through real-life advice, inspiring stories, and thoughtful perspectives from leaders around the world.

Contributing Writer

Work Futurist

Senior Quantitative Researcher, People Insights

Principal Writer

20 team meeting ideas that will help your team bond

Did you know that your team meetings can be a great opportunity to build psychological safety?

Why does that matter? It turns out that psychological safety is a key factor in boosting team performance. In a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology , researchers stated the importance of psychological safety like this:

Psychological safety is the engine of performance, not the fuel.

People who feel psychologically safe at work are more willing to be vulnerable in terms of contributing ideas or pointing out potential problems. Because they have plenty of support and encouragement to speak up, these folks are more comfortable taking risks without fear of judgment, finger-pointing, or punishment. 

Your team meetings are a frequent and reliable outlet to create a foundation of psychological safety by helping your team form strong bonds. When people have a chance to get to know each other on a more personal level and form a closer connection, they don’t only build familiarity—they build trust.

Curious about how to go about incorporating a few bonding opportunities into your team meetings—without trust falls, human knots, and random questions about desert islands? Look no further. 

Team meeting ideas for new or new(ish) teams

Whether you have a group of long-standing colleagues starting a new project or a cross-functional team of people who don’t know each other all that well, these team meeting ideas will break the ice, loosen people up, and help them feel a little more comfortable before you get into the nuts and bolts of your meeting. 

1. Ask a few non-cringey icebreaker questions

We get it— icebreaker questions can sometimes inspire some groans and eyerolls. But there are some creative ones you can ask to help everybody learn something new about each other. For example: 

• Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
• For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
• If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be? 
• In the event of a zombie apocalypse, what three items would you grab from your home? (This is actually one of our favorites. Check out our Surviving the Apocalypse template if you want to do this icebreaker with a remote team.)

You could even ask team members to submit icebreaker questions ahead of your meetings so that they have some control over what they share and learn. 

2. Do a quick show-and-tell

This game reignites your childhood enthusiasm and also helps team members find out more about what everyone values. 

If you meet in-person, give team members a heads up that they should bring in an object to your next meeting and be prepared to explain what it is and why it’s important to them. This meeting idea works just as well (or maybe even better) remotely, when people can easily grab and showcase something from their own home. 

3. Play “name that tune”

Nothing brings people together quite like music . In your next meeting, play the first few seconds of a couple of different tunes and challenge team members to name the song. 

You could even set a theme for each week, like holiday songs or ’90s hits. Prepare for it to become a beloved team tradition that quite literally gets people moving in their chairs. 

4. Switch up your introductions

Tired of meetings that start with the same old, “Tell us your name and what you do…”? Flip introductions on their head by having people introduce someone else in the group, rather than themselves.

You can pair people up (ideally, they should already know each other) or ask team members to volunteer to introduce someone else. It’s sure to be a far more interesting spiel—and likely filled with some glowing compliments the person never would’ve shared about themselves. 

5. Share some photos

Personal photos give team members a more intimate glimpse at the lives of the people they work with.

Set a theme for each meeting—like your favorite vacation photo, your most embarrassing yearbook photo, or a photo of your pet—and challenge team members to share a relevant snapshot.

Team meeting ideas for motivation

Of course, your team meetings are about more than fun and games. When it’s time to get down to business, these team meeting ideas for motivation will inspire everybody to buckle down for a productive conversation. 

6. Plan a thoughtful agenda

A worthwhile meeting starts before the actual meeting. Your agenda loops people in on what you’ll discuss so that they can come prepared with their best ideas and burning questions. Then you can use your meeting time for meaningful conversations rather than getting everybody up to speed. 

Use a simple meeting agenda template to collaborate with your team and plan an intentional, organized, and actionable discussion. 

7. Celebrate your wins

Kick off your meeting on a high note by using a few minutes to highlight recent wins and accomplishments—whether you call attention to them yourself or ask other people to chime in. 

Not only does this set a positive tone, but it also gives motivation a boost. It’s called the progress principle , which states that “of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.”

8. Understand team priorities

If you want everybody to walk out of your team meeting with a clear idea of what they should focus on, try the 5 things workflow .

Joel Spolsky, co-founder of Trello, came up with this format. Every team member is asked to share five things—either directly in a meeting or on the Trello board: 

• Two tasks they’re currently working on
• Two tasks they plan to work on next
• One task that people might expect them to be working on but they weren’t actually planning on doing

It’s a straightforward way to cut through the noise and understand exactly what everybody is (and should) be working on. 

9. Encourage fidgeting

Think intense motivation means sitting still in your chair? Think again. Research shows that fidgeting can actually help people feel more calm, creative, and even more focused.

Bump up the motivation level in your meetings by giving people opportunities to use their hands—like putting small toys, trinkets, doodle pads, or even Play-Doh in the middle of the table. Have a remote team? Gifting everybody a branded fidget spinner could be a good surprise. 

10. Keep a detailed history

It’s tough to feel motivated if every single meeting feels like Groundhog Day—like all you’re doing is constantly rehashing a previous conversation. 

Prevent this repetitive feeling by setting up a weekly team meetings board . Not only will it help you plan a successful meeting, but it also has space for you to keep a log of all of your previous meetings. That means everybody can get the context of what’s already been discussed, so you don’t need to keep hitting the “replay” button. 

Team meeting ideas for communication

For your meetings to be as positive and productive as possible, people need to know how to successfully interact with each other.

These team meeting ideas for communication can help your team members understand how to better relate to one another—and how to more effectively share their message. 

11. Clarify roles

If your meetings currently involve a lot of toe-stepping, it’s time for you to clarify who’s responsible for what. The DACI framework requires that you categorize your team members by:

• Driver: Who’s leading the team, project, or decision
• Approver: Who has ultimate sign-off
• Contributors: Who is involved or chipping in
• Informed: Who needs to be kept in the loop

This straightforward system helps people understand where and how they fit in so they can communicate more effectively.

12. Identify your 4 L’s

Understanding and empathy are crucial for successful communication. The 4Ls retrospective asks team members to identify what they loved, loathed, learned, and longed for in a recent project, event, or sprint of work. 

This exercise is a simple way to reflect back on your work together, get better insight into other peoples’ experiences, and improve as a team moving forward.

13. Create team user manuals

Personal user manuals are another effective way to increase understanding. This isn’t about a technical booklet to help you unjam the printer—these user manuals help team members understand what makes each other tick.

Use this template from Confluence to get started. 

Everybody can fill out their own document, listing everything from their communication preferences to how they prefer to receive feedback. 

Have everyone discuss their pages during a team meeting. Then, retain the pages on Confluence to create a handy reference for new teammates, as well as longtime coworkers. 

14. Understand strengths and weaknesses

All of your team members are unique. Figuring out what everybody brings to the table helps build even more shared understanding.

With this Superpowers and Kryptonite exercise , each team member adds their name to the list. Then they write down two or three of their superpowers and one to three things that prevent them from performing their best. It’ll help them relate to the experiences of other team members and approach conversations with more empathy. 

15. Run an experiment (or several)

The way your team communicates is as unique as your team members themselves. It might take you some trial and error to find the best ways to facilitate productive conversations—so it can be helpful to maintain an experimental mindset. 

Maybe you’ll try asking everybody to close out Slack during your meeting time. Or perhaps you’ll test out a meeting where everybody needs to ask at least one question about an idea before providing any constructive criticism. When your meeting is done, send out a quick survey to find out if people thought it was more valuable. You might’ve landed on an idea worth repeating. 

Team meeting ideas for Zoom

Nearly all of the above team meeting ideas can be used or adapted for video conference meetings.

But if you’re looking for some remote-specific suggestions, here are a few tips and exercises you could incorporate into existing meetings—as well as ideas for a few additional meetings that can help your distributed team connect even more. 

16. Measure the mood

Remote meetings don’t always lend themselves to nonverbal cues, and it’s challenging to get a sense of how team members are feeling. Yet, our emotions provide important context, as research shows our emotions bias our perception.

There are simple ways you can get a feel for the overall mood of your team members ahead of a meeting, like asking them to share a GIF to describe their day or use an emoji reaction to summarize their current frame of mind.

Fun fact: The same part of our brain that processes human facial expressions also processes emojis. 

17. Set up a collaborative space

Your remote team might not gather around a physical whiteboard, but they still need a centralized spot where they can plan meetings and work through conversations together.

This remote team meetings template brings focus and transparency to your team meetings with a collaborative approach (anybody can add cards to the “this week” list), a structured agenda, and helpful notes. 

18. Encourage casual watercooler chat

Small talk might seem pointless on the surface, but that friendly chit-chat is exactly what helps your team members feel connected to one another. Unfortunately, that casual chatter often gets lost on remote teams. 

At Trello, we set up specific Slack channels just for non-work chat. We also utilize Zoom to connect team members who may not know each other during a regular meeting we call “Mr. Rogers,” (yes, as in the TV show “ Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” ). 

Want to try it? Use this watercooler video chat planner to regularly assign people to groups for an impromptu call where they can talk about anything they want. Groups can take a screenshot of their call and add comments about the random things they discussed so everybody can see what topics are bringing people together. 

19. Unite distributed team members

You might not be able to walk past someone’s desk and see their recent vacation photo as their screensaver, but that doesn’t mean there’s no way for your team to share their travels.

The remote team bonding template offers a board where team members can add a card to highlight a recent excursion. They can share a photo and even offer some tips or must-see spots as a comment on the card. It helps unite your team, even if they’re spread across the globe. 

20. Switch up locations 

People probably have their default spots for your team meetings, but a change of scenery can help boost motivation and creativity. So, ahead of your next team chat, encourage everybody to sign in from a new place.

Whether they head out to a local coffee shop or soak in some afternoon sun on their own patio, that change can reignite their inspiration and give a fresh backdrop to your team Zoom calls. You could even ask people to share more about where they’re joining from, if they’re willing to. 

Better meetings, better team

Your team meetings are your most frequent and regular chance to pull everybody together into one conversation. Don’t waste that opportunity on roll call and bland status updates.

Put these team meeting ideas into practice to build stronger bonds, boost motivation, and improve communication. You’re well on your way to not only better meetings, but a better team. 

  For more tips on how to have meetings that matter, check out “Trello’s Guide to Better Hybrid Meetings” from Atlassian Presents: Work Life .

Advice, stories, and expertise about work life today.

Hypercontext overview

One-on-ones, team meetings, meeting agendas, meeting notes, meeting insights, guest users, suggested questions, real-time employee feedback, chrome extension, idea management.

Microsoft Teams

Google Calendar

Google Meet

Goal Examples

360+ goal & okr examples, engineering okrs, customer success okrs, meeting templates, 1:1 meeting templates, team meeting templates, remote meeting templates, agile meeting templates, the ultimate one-on-one meeting, sprint planning team meeting, first team meeting, biannual performance review, report: high performing teams in tech, report: the state of high performing sales teams, 24 team meeting topics for better engagement.

There’s not shortage of engaging and productive team meeting topics. Check out this list for inspiration to improve engagement at your next team meeting.

Are you ever stuck on a Zoom call and think, Do I really need to be here? If so, you’re probably aware of how easy it is to put yourself on mute, turn off your camera, and check out if the meeting feels pointless. As a leader, this is the last thing you want — and precisely why you need to think through and plan your team meeting topics in advance.

The state of high-performing teams in tech reports that while 91% of people have team meetings, their usefulness was rated just 6.5 out of 10.

This is especially problematic in a remote or hybrid meeting , where competing tabs are just a click away. The best way for managers to keep team meetings on track and participants engaged is by fleshing out an agenda template with clearly defined topics and questions in advance.

Not sure what to talk about? We’ve put together a list of 🔥 team meeting topics:

Introductions

Icebreakers, status updates, upcoming projects, recognition, brainstorming, product training, tools and processes, customer stories, industry news, company news, competitors, weekly learnings, guest speakers, off-topic powerpoints.

Kick-off your team meetings by introducing new members, when needed. Be sure to give them a heads up if you’d like them to say a few words. No one likes being asked to share something interesting about themselves on the spot. 

Forging personal connections can feel like an uphill battle on remote teams, where there’s no communal coffee machine to congregate. At the same time, hearing the results of your co-worker’s cat DNA test might be annoying if you’re there to talk OKRs. 

Icebreaker activities are good middle ground. Allocate 5-10 minutes for fun questions and conversation starters at the top of your meeting. It can help participants get to know one another beyond just work, and also prevent the rest of the meeting from going off track.

Here are some of our favorite icebreaker questions : 

• What are you jazzed about personally or professionally? 
• What’s something non-goal-related you learned this week?
• What are two things you always say yes to? 

Team meetings are a great way to synch— but there’s a fine line between getting everyone on the same page, and getting lost in the weeds. Running through a mile-long list of projects and priorities in excruciating detail won’t be a good use of anyone’s time, and participants may tune out if the meeting is irrelevant. 

Instead, ask your reports to prepare brief status updates that they feel their teammates should know about. A good rule of thumb is that the updates need to be connected to the work of other team members in the meeting (i.e. projects with different dependencies). In other words, it’s not a time to showcase all your hard work. It’s a time to give relevant updates that apply to the group. If you don’t have any, that’s okay! There shouldn’t be pressure to share for the sake of it.

Follow up on status updates with clear action items or next steps.

💡 Pro tip: Consider using a collaborative agenda , where participants can contribute talking points and topics beforehand. This helps prevent louder voices from taking over the meeting, and neutralizes the risk of important updates slipping through the cracks if someone doesn’t have the chance to speak.

Goals should be a team meeting topic every 👏 single👏 week.

Consistently talking about goals is important to both team and individual success. The state of high-performing teams report found that clear goals and expectations had the biggest impact on productivity— more than resources, well-defined processes, or even a good manager. And when goals are discussed weekly, employees are 2.7X more confident in their ability to hit them. 

The point of covering goals in your team meetings isn’t only to ensure your team doesn’t forget what you’re working towards. It also helps your reports see the bigger picture. It’s tough for someone to derive meaning from their work if they can’t see its impact on the company at large— so use your team meetings to show it.

Metrics go hand-in-hand with goals. Reviewing metrics enables you to communicate progress towards team goals, as well as share invaluable insights along the way— especially since some of your reports might not have access to the same data. 

Discussing metrics also provides an opportunity for recognition. It makes it clear when you achieve your goals — which calls for celebration! On the flip side, it also helps you identify areas for improvement and learning.

Speaking of celebration, it’s always nice to feel appreciated by the people you work with. As a people manager, however, you can do your reports one better. Putting team and individual wins on blast serves multiple purposes:

• Connecting specific outcomes to the team and organizational goals, to reinforce the impact of their work
• Fostering high morale by showing (not telling) your team your appreciation for their efforts
• Promoting a collaborative team environment

Celebrating wins positively impacts motivation and productivity across the board, especially when your team is working towards ambitious goals. Save some time for this topic at your next team meeting.

While it’s way more fun to talk about wins, it’s equally important to talk about failures. The key is making sure these discussions are empathetic, helpful, and purposeful. 

Be honest when team or organizational goals are missed. This will help build trust, foster transparency, improve accountability , and give your reports permission to be open about their own mistakes, instead of brushing them under the rug.

Avoid comments like “We failed”, without any additional discussion. Instead, speak with your team about:

• Why this particular failure happened
• What are the important learnings or takeaways
• How you’re going to pivot or course correct

Always avoid singling out individuals for blame— pointing fingers is not the goal. In fact, it’s detrimental to psychological safety, and won’t effectively motivate your team.

Creating an environment where roadblocks can be freely discussed— without any shame— benefits everyone involved. Beyond flagging potential issues, these conversations are the perfect opportunity for brainstorming workarounds and solutions as a team.

For example, someone could be waiting on another team member for something and they have no idea. This conversation will help provide visibility into potential blindspots to avoid future frustrations. 

In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Set a plan of action for how you’ll tackle the upcoming week and where you can support each other. 

Planning together helps ensure you’re aligned as a team and gives everyone visibility into what their peers are working on. That way when unexpected things come up, everyone’s looped into current priorities for team members. 

Use team meetings to give your reports a heads up on new projects or campaigns coming down the pipeline.

If this requires working with other departments, take time to address how it ties in with team goals, and address any priorities that may need to be shifted. This helps ensure cross-team collaborations are set up for success.

According to this Forbes article , 40% of Americans say they’d put more effort into their work if they were recognized more often.

Set aside a few minutes for your reports to formally recognize other people on the team — for big and small accomplishments alike. Creating a culture of recognition on your team can help boost morale and reinforce team values.

💡 Pro tip: Give recognition similar to how you’d give constructive feedback : be specific, show the impact, and don’t wait for a performance review to share!

Team meetings aren’t the time to share personal feedback directed at specific people. Rather, share feedback about how you’re working together as a team. 

A great way to do this is the stop, start, continue, do more of, do less of wheel (that’s a mouthful! 😅). It’s essentially soliciting feedback from the team by asking them for:

• One thing that’s working
• One thing that’s not working
• One thing to do more of
• One thing to do less of

On top of seeking general feedback on how the team is doing, ask for feedback on the meeting itself! How can you make it a more engaging and inclusive meeting for your whole team?

When it comes to brainstorming, the more brains, the better! 🧠 That’s why your team meeting is a great time to run a short brainstorming session. It’s a time when you have everyone in the same room, and can get the creative juices flowing. 

Of course, if it’s going to be a long brainstorm, we recommend taking it beyond a topic on your agenda and conducting a separate brainstorming meeting . 

Product insights offer huge value, but some teams might not know the ins and outs. To help keep everyone in the loop, introduce product training sessions to cover best practices, interesting use cases, roadmaps, and upcoming releases.

If your team isn’t familiar with all the internal tools and processes, this is another good topic to include— especially since there may be underutilized resources or updates they don’t know about. Consider discussing:

• Best practices and guidelines for internal processes
• Tips and tricks for different tools in your tech stack
• New tools that will soon be available
• Process updates or improvements
• Common mistakes to avoid

You can also ask participants to share any shortcuts or hacks they’ve discovered, or invite feedback on a new tool you’re considering for the team.

Your customers can provide critical insights to engineering, product, and go-to-market teams alike. In your next team meeting, try sharing:

• Onboarding call recordings, where customers discuss their pain points or processes 
• Demo call recordings, where recently closed prospects talk about competitors
• Case study interview recordings, where customers describe their use cases and successes
• Customer reviews that mention favorite product features or areas for improvement
• Customer emails or social media shout outs

No matter what team you work on, the more people know about the customer experience, the better off your company will be.

What’s the TLDR in your industry this week? 

Team meetings are a good place to share news related to your organization, customers, and competitors. Instead of a one-way broadcast, however, invite participants to contribute interesting stories they’ve spotted on LinkedIn, ProductHunt, or industry-related publications. 

Encouraging your reports to chime in with their reactions, thoughts, and predictions will help fuel lively discussion as a team-building exercise. This also helps everyone keep up with notable changes in the market.

Beyond just regular company news or events, communicate relevant promotions and employee departures (if possible), as well as upcoming changes to the internal structure that may impact the team.

It’s important for employees to understand what’s going on at the organization, beyond just their team. It helps contribute to the feeling of being part of something bigger. Don’t let your team work in a silo. What goes on at the company-wide level affects them — whether directly or not.

Team meetings are a good time to compare notes on competitors, including new product launches, press releases, and insights from customer calls, emails, or reviews.

Did someone find a new competitor? Keep the whole team in the loop on what’s going on in the industry.

Open the floor for participants to share something they’ve learned, whether it’s a new life hack, skill upgrade, piece of trivia, or random Eureka moment on the meaning of life.  It doesn’t have to be work-related to be insightful. 

I like asking people about what have they learned recently. It always leads to interesting conversations about everything from good books, epic failures, success stories to a-ha moments. Highly recommended – we can all learn from each other and grow this way! — Konrad Pitala (@konradpitala) April 5, 2022

Don’t overlook professional development opportunities in your team meetings. A series of mini-workshops gives participants a chance to showcase their skills, and also maybe pick up some new ones. Whether a crash course on SEO strategy or time blocking tutorial, the possibilities are endless.

You don’t have to restrict team meetings to just your reports. Reach out to other departments, professional connections in your network, and even customers, and invite them to share their insights and advice.

This helps provide opportunities for your team to learn. Plus, it allows you to protect your team’s time by giving other team leaders an opportunity to connect with them in a structured way.

Commonly known as “PowerPoint Parties”, off-topic PowerPoint presentations are a fun way to spice up team meetings and discuss hobbies and interests outside of work.

Is there someone on your team who’s an amazing cook? A great gardener? An expert in Tai Chi? Let them share their expertise with the team! It helps everyone get to know each other and learn something new. 

Even when you plan your meeting in advance, questions will inevitably come up that you didn’t prepare for.  No one should walk away feeling confused or unclear, so set aside a few minutes at the end as an “open forum” for questions.

Likely if one person has a question, there are more people who have the same one. Setting aside some time for questions in your meeting will allow you to tackle confusion in one fell swoop.

Add a new topic to your next team meeting

There’s no shortage of compelling topics to enrich your team meetings. Preparing in advance gives you the opportunity to experiment with different combinations, collect feedback, and make improvements along the way. 

Don’t be afraid to switch things up, see what works, and hopefully have a little fun in the process! Whatever the topic, following best practices for team meetings with a clear, well-planned agenda will help ensure you’re providing value and holding participants’ attention to the end. 

Now that you have team meeting topics down, here are some other resources for improving team meetings:

• The 45-minute team meeting agenda template
• Trending team meeting questions
• 10 icebreaker questions
• Report: The State of High Performing Teams
• Tool: Hypercontext’s team meeting software

…and there’s more where that came from! 👇

What should you do now

You made it to the end of this article! Here are some things you can do now:

• You should check out our massive (& free) collection of meeting agenda templates to help you run more effective meetings.
• You should try Hypercontext to see how it can help you run a high performing org.
• If you found this article helpful, please share it with others on Linkedin or X (Twitter)

Hypercontext helps managers run better Meetings edit_calendar , hit their Goals flag , and share better Performance feedback insights , faster.

Elevate team morale and boost productivity with these positive staff meeting ideas designed to engage and energize your team.

Even the best team leaders go through periods when their meetings just aren’t productive, and the whole team seems disengaged. If this sounds like you, rest easy—there are plenty of ways to bring engaging staff meetings back into your day-to-day. 

A big part of enhancing meeting engagement is simply going outside the box. Instead of building out your typical staff meeting agenda, try your hand at any of the positive staff meeting ideas detailed in this blog post.

Best practices for positive staff meetings

• 27 positive staff meeting ideas

Tips for maintaining meeting positivity 

Positive staff meeting ideas look very little like how you’d typically put together a team gathering. That said, the steps you’ll take beforehand are pretty similar. Here are some best practices for positive staff meetings to keep in mind.

Plan your meeting and set an agenda 

Great meetings have structure and context, and these qualities come from robust meeting agenda templates, customized meeting formats, and AI-generated talking points. You’ll check all these boxes when you use Fellow’s AI meeting agenda feature to create an agenda and send it ahead of your meeting. Plus, with Fellow’s meeting planning feature , you’ll get notified when it’s time to take key preparation steps such as adding agenda topics or sections.

Instantly build thoughtful meeting agendas using AI

Harness the power of AI to save time, get inspired, and enable efficient meeting preparation. Get AI-generated suggested agendas, topics, and talking points right where your meetings happen.

Set expectations

Everyone attending your meeting should show up knowing how you’d like them to take part and what you’re aiming to achieve by the meeting’s end. Lay this all out with a clear meeting purpose , and you’ll be well on your way to a highly positive meeting. 

Assign roles

Anyone on your team who plays a dedicated role during your meeting will inherently be engaged. Appoint someone as your meeting’s note-taker and another person as the timekeeper to ensure each agenda item gets only its allotted amount of time. You should also decide on a meeting facilitator whose role is to ensure an efficient, in-depth, and successful meeting. These team members’ active participation may encourage the same from others.

27 positive staff meeting ideas 

Newly productive team meetings start with these 27 positive staff meeting formats.

• Lunch and learn sessions
• “Two truths and a lie” game
• Professional development group
• Open mic storytelling
• Group fitness classes
• Team potluck
• Virtual reality (VR) experiences
• Book or podcast club
• Community service projects
• In-person or virtual happy hour
• International day
• Outdoor team-building activities
• Board game or video game tournaments
• Theme dress code meetings
• Constructive feedback sessions
• Personal storytelling exercises
• Create a team time capsule
• Role swap days
• Goal visualization boards
• Celebrate weekly achievements
• Silent meetings
• ‘Inside the Actors’ Studio’ interviews
• ‘Shark Tank’ innovation pitches
• TED-style talks
• Arts and crafts hour
• Musical chairs with a twist
• Mindfulness and meditation breaks

1 Lunch and learn sessions

In this series of staff meetings , your team members take turns leading informational sessions while everyone eats lunch. This novel approach to team meetings can be a much more exciting way to share key project updates.

2 “Two truths and a lie” game

Getting to know each other meetings are great spaces for everyone to share things about themselves. The twist with this creative meeting activity, though, is that team members share three things about themselves, but only two of these things are true.

3 Professional development group

Effective staff meetings look at each team member’s current role as well as their future involvement. Team members sharing and uplifting each other’s career goals in professional development meeting groups makes for positive, engaging environments.

4 Open mic storytelling

Sometimes your team needs to let off a little steam or get some sympathy from other team members about a recent work challenge. With an open mic storytelling meeting, anyone can take center stage with an in-depth work story and get the group’s reaction.

5 Group fitness classes

A healthy team is a productive team. Gathering everyone for virtual or in-person yoga, Pilates, or aerobics classes can get everyone’s bodies and minds flowing, thus improving meeting morale.

6 Team potluck

Instead of your next in-person staff meeting pulling everyone away from lunch, combine your meeting with a potluck. This way, everyone gets fed while bringing a dish that shows off their kitchen prowess or speaks to their cultural heritage.

7 Virtual reality (VR) experiences

Team building in meetings can boost morale in settings far beyond the conference room. Use virtual reality (VR) headsets for team-building experiences in just about any setting you can imagine.

8 Book or podcast club

Leadership media, such as the Supermanagers podcast , is highly popular among the executives of today and tomorrow. Host a book or podcast club during your staff meeting to get conversations going about the professional content everyone is consuming.

9 Community service projects

It can feel really nice to contribute to a community initiative or local charity. Gathering your whole team for this (or sponsoring remote team members’ individual community contributions) can increase morale while giving back to your neighbours.

10 In-person or virtual happy hour

After a long week, your team might appreciate light drinks and pub food at a bar near your workspace. Alternatively, for remote teams, set up an end-of-day virtual meeting where everyone brings their own refreshments and snacks.

11 International day

For an international day staff meeting, give everyone the chance to present their background and build a mini-cultural exchange. The more seen you make your team members feel, the higher their morale and, in turn, their productivity.

12 Outdoor team-building activities

For in-person teams, the challenges of hiking together or completing a group rope course can teach your team how to work together in unique settings. That’s exactly what you might try to achieve in a standard team meeting, but outdoor activities are way more fun.

13 Board game or video game tournaments

Winning at board games and video games often requires collaboration and strategic thinking. Carve out some meeting time, whether in person or virtually, for game tournaments to foster these skills in unexpected and exciting ways.

14 Theme dress code meetings

Lightening the mood is sometimes all it takes to get everyone engaged and lead to a productive meeting. A fun, professionally appropriate theme for everyone’s meeting attire can lift everyone’s spirits and result in a much more effective conversation.

15 Constructive feedback sessions

Encouragement can keep team members going, even when you’ve already told them they’re doing well. Building staff meetings around positive, structured feedback can get everyone paying attention and feeling motivated to continue doing great things. 

16 Personal storytelling exercises

When one person on your team shares that they’ve overcome a certain professional challenge, others in the same boat might pay attention. They’ll be more engaged during your meeting—and afterward, they’ll have ample inspiration to jump over their current hurdles.

17 Create a team time capsule

It can be lots of fun to see what your team remembers most fondly about your work. It can be just as endearing to see where everyone thinks you’ll all be professionally in months or years. Gather these ideas in a team time capsule at your next meeting, and open this capsule at a future meeting for a moment of celebration.

18 Role swap days

Start your day with a meeting in which each team member outlines their role and chooses someone else to do it for them that day. This conversation alone can be unforgettable, as can some of the adventures your role-swapped team members embark on for the next eight hours.

19 Goal visualization boards

It’s one thing to have goals; it’s another to draw them out and literally see them on a computer screen. Give everyone at your staff meeting time to craft goal visualization boards, and then ask your team members to provide encouraging feedback on everyone’s aspirations.

20 Celebrate weekly achievements

Meetings can get so focused on updates and action items that it’s easy to forget to celebrate your team’s wins on previous objectives. A meeting dedicated just to this celebration can be incredibly engaging and drive morale and productivity afterward.

21 Silent meetings

In silent meetings , everyone silently reads the same material and takes notes, and then the ideas get shared around the room. The reading alone can engage people, and the unusual format can get everyone’s attention too.

22 ‘Inside the Actors’ Studio’ interviews

For a true infotainment feature during your next staff meeting, pair up team members to conduct short interviews with each other. Your team will be thoroughly tuned in as they learn about everyone’s hidden talents or other interesting facts.

23 ‘Shark Tank’ innovation pitches

Designate some leaders and managers as sharks, and invite your team members to pitch the sharks on innovative workplace changes. You might find your next big improvement, and you’ll certainly involve everyone in your meeting.

24 TED-style talks

Every team member has their own passions related to your work. Put team members in the center of your in-person or virtual meeting and give them a few minutes to speak impactfully on their passions. The frequent speaker changes and unexpected subjects will keep your team focused and excited.

25 Arts and crafts hour

Provide supplies for everyone to tap into their more creative side during your next staff meeting. For a virtual staff meeting, have your organization foot the bill, with a firm limit, for each team member’s own miniature supply shopping spree. Your team can then take the imagination they harness during this unique meeting to their everyday tasks. 

26 Musical chairs with a twist

Encourage rapid-fire problem-solving with quick, thrilling challenges whenever someone loses at musical chairs. You’ll bring joy to your meeting and develop skills that are useful long afterward.

27 Mindfulness and meditation breaks

Try a 10-minute introductory mindfulness and meditation break at your next meeting. This can provide a reset button and help everyone focus on the upcoming conversation.

To keep the positivity going at your meetings:

• Give everyone the chance to speak or participate . It’s only fun if everyone is doing it. Make sure you allow everyone the opportunity to take part in your meeting’s unique activity, whether it’s a TED talk or a simple feedback session.
• Regularly ask for feedback . Seek anonymous meeting feedback for unflinching insights into what your team thinks of your positive staff meeting ideas. With Fellow’s Feedback feature , giving, getting, and tracking advice, input, and growth becomes part of your team’s day-to-day.
• Steer conversations toward solutions . As novel as positive staff meeting ideas can be, they’re not just about the fun. Keep your activities geared toward problem-solving to make the most of your meetings.

Give and get feedback as work happens

A healthy and strong culture starts with feedback. Fellow enables your team to share real-time feedback on meetings or gather anonymous feedback.

Parting advice

Meetings are great—they’re your most efficient way to gather your team for problem-solving, project planning, goal-setting, and so much more. As with anything great, though, they can get a tad dull if you keep doing them the same way over and over. Breathe some life into your gatherings with positive staff meeting ideas that put unique twists on your conversations. Don’t forget to use Fellow to prepare meeting agendas and get feedback on how your new meeting formats are working!

Related stories

How to Conduct a Meeting Audit in 7 Steps: A Guide for Leaders 6 min read

Meeting Minutes: Templates, Examples (and Automations) to Move Faster and Smarter 9 min read

How To Write and Automate a Meeting Summary for Optimal Outcomes 7 min read

Keep Reading

32 Fun Team Outing Ideas for 2024

All-Staff Meetings: Tips to Make Them Effective (and Top Mistakes to Avoid!)

8 Fun Sales Games to Boost Your Team’s Performance

6 Ideas To Make Your Meetings Fun & Engaging

What Is Self-Leadership? Your Guide to Unlocking Excellence

Kaizen Principle: How to Improve Performance and Empower Your Team

10 Ways to Conduct A Positive Meeting

Wrap Up a Meeting Like a Pro: 9 Positive Note Strategies

How to Take Initiative at Work and Make a Great Impression

Free meeting templates.

Nurse Staff Meeting Template

First Meeting with New Team Agenda Template

Hospital Staff Meeting Template

Team Charter Meeting Template

Book Club Meeting Template

End-Of-Year Staff Meeting Agenda Template

New Year Team Kick-Off Meeting Template

First HR Team Meeting Agenda

Sales Team Insights Meeting Template

See how leaders in 100+ countries are making meetings more productive and delightful.

Say goodbye to unproductive meetings. Fellow helps your team build great meeting habits through collaborative agendas, real-time notetaking, and time-saving templates.

End every meeting knowing who is doing what by when. Assign, organize, and prioritize all your meeting action items in one place.

Give and get feedback as work happens. Request and track real-time feedback on meetings, recent projects, and performance.

23 Team Meeting Ideas: Activities For Fun Team-Building 😃

Learn how to transform meeting engagement with creative meetings ideas and meeting productivity tips.

Have fewer, more effective meetings with AI, behavior-driving features, and seamless integrations.

In the modern work landscape where remote work is the norm, effective team meetings are the heartbeat of every successful team. Despite their importance, meeting innovation often gets lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday operations.

Engaging meetings are not just a luxury; they're a necessity. By getting creative with team meetings ideas and injecting innovative team activities into your meetings, you will be able to effectively engage your team while boosting morale. Keep reading to unlock 23 innovative team meeting ideas! 

23 Team meeting ideas to try this year

1. awards show.

Hosting engaging team meetings can be challenging which it's why it's important to incorporate new remote team meeting ideas from time to time. Not only will facilitating an award show provide you with the opportunity to give your employees the recognition they deserve, but it's also an excellent opportunity to boost morale and foster alignment. 

2. "Bad" Art Contest

It's never a good idea to take yourself too seriously. TO mix things up, and host more engaging team meetings, we recommend facilitating a “bad” art contest. This encourages teammates to participate regardless of their skill level and allows teams to let loose and have fun. 

“If you can laugh together, you can work together.” – Robert Orben

3. Photo Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great way to host more engaging team meetings. To facilitate a remote photo scavenger hunt, provide a list of items and encourage teammates to snap photos from around their home. Everyone can upload their finds to a shared folder and enjoy looking at what their colleagues have captured. Examples include snapping a photo of your favorite mug, a healthy snack, and office staple, etc. 

Here's a sample team meeting photo scavenger hunt list:

• Your favorite cup or mug
• A view fro a window
• A business card
• Someone/something listening to music
• Swag from any company (including your business)
• Three things that have keys
• An excellent Zoom background

4. Out Of The Box Awards

Want to take a more creative approach to your award show? Think of funny, out of the box awards and encourage teammates to cast their votes. You can add an additional level of engagement to this innovative team activity by encouraging your teammates to think of their own out of the box awards.

5. Play A Board Game

Playing board games as a team is one of many great creative meeting ideas! To embrace this activity remotely, consider leveraging one of many free online resources. You can set aside an hour block to gather your team and bond over everyone’s favorite board games! 

“With an enthusiastic team you can achieve almost anything.” – Tahir Shah

6. Find Your Inner Child

Looking to host more engaging team meetings? 

As an alternative to playing a board game, you can challenge your employees to do something they enjoyed as children. This may include coloring a picture, finger painting, or snacking on something nostalgic.

7. Lego Party

Speaking of inner child, a Lego set is the perfect, contained project that requires time and focus but can be finished during a meeting or virtual gathering. To facilitate this creative team meeting idea, consider purchasing a small Lego set for each teammate and encourage them to build them together. 

8. Movie Madness

“Movie Madness” is a great way to tell engaging stories. Use this segment of your meeting to reflect on your shared triumphs. Encourage each teammate to come up with a “scene” and continue to add to your highlight reel until you have a full-fledged storyline! 

Having a boring, regular 'ole staff meeting? Check out this 11 Do's and Don'ts Staff Meetings guide

{{start-having-better-meetings="/blog-inserts"}}

9. Lunch and Learn

Lunch and learns are a great way to foster a sense of community amongst your remote team. Instead of hosting a boring meeting, kick it up a notch by providing your teammates with a stipend that can be used to purchase lunch. 

10. Automated Asynchronous Check-Ins 

Struggling to boost engagement among your remote team members? Leverage technology to facilitate asynchronous check-ins that spark engagement! Consider integrating a bot into your Slack channel that initiates brief watercooler check-ins throughout the day. Examples include asking teammates to share a photo of their pet, encouraging teammates to share a fun fact about their personal lives, or prompting employees to share a fun recipe. The opportunities are endless!

11. Leverage Polls and Quizzes 

Are you struggling to come up with innovative team collaboration strategies? Integrating quizzes or polls into your remote team meetings is a great way to boost engagement! Luckily, there are tons of online resources like Kahoot that make integrating innovative team activities into everyday meetings a breeze. 

12. Do Some Yoga

Work can be stressful which is why integrating innovative team activities into your meetings from time to time is so important. Before wrapping up your next meeting, consider facilitating a brief yoga session at the end. This will help teammates unplug and get their creative juices flowing as they move into the next phase of the meeting. 

13. Create A Virtual Masterpiece

Connecting with your remote team can be challenging if you don’t actively implement creative meeting ideas. If you're used to brainstorming by sharing your ideas via video chat, consider kicking it up a notch by encouraging your teammates to contribute to a virtual whiteboard- creating a virtual masterpiece!

“Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve uncommon results.” – Ifeanyi Onuoha

14. Virtual backgrounds

Looking for innovative team activities? Consider creating fun backgrounds for each one of your meetings. To mix things up, encourage your teammates to do the same. You can create branded backgrounds specific to holidays or special occasions like team birthdays. 

15. Coloring Books

Did you know that coloring and doodling are both great ways to engage your team? Coloring or doodling helps stimulate the brain, resulting in more creative outcomes. This is especially great if you have a brainstorming session or other creative aspects to your meeting. If you want to take an environmentally friendly approach, consider sourcing virtual coloring books or doodling boards. 

16. Word Association 

Ask everyone in the office to bring up words that start with a specific letter to see if they can associate those words with any of their coworkers. This is a quick and easy way to foster engagement during your  next remote team meeting. If you aren’t working in an in-person environment, create a Slack thread and encourage your teammates to participate virtually.

17. Breakfast Meeting 

Nothing brings teams together quite like sharing a meal! If your team works remotely and gathering in person from time to time isn’t feasible, consider providing a stipend and encouraging employees to join virtually for a meal. 

18. Brainstorm Graffiti

Brainstorm graffiti is one of many innovative team meeting ideas that encourages participation from all team members. The one-at-a-time format of more traditional brainstorming sessions may make teammates that are shy and hesitant to participate. In brainstorm graffiti, team members write down all ideas at once, and then explore the different topics as a group.

19. Team Pomodoro Session

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that involves working in 25-minute intervals followed by five-minute breaks. To facilitate engaging team meetings that keep your team on-track and engaged, you can hold group pomodoro sessions. Your teammates can either work in a shared setting on individual tasks or use the time to collaborate on a shared task.  

20. Guest Speaker

Inviting a guest speaker is one of the easiest and most effective team meeting ideas. When choosing a guest speaker, make sure they provide value to your team. You will want to make sure that they have the means to facilitate an engaging conversation with your team. ‍

21. Q&A

If you're looking for a classic team meeting idea that yields excellent engagement, Q&A sessions are a great idea! Q&A sessions give teammates the chance to satisfy curiosity, clear up confusion, and learn from industry experts! You can host Q&As to address upcoming organizational changes or use them as a learning opportunity for your team.   ‍

22. Incorporate Mindfulness Sessions

Incorporating mindfulness sessions into your team meetings is one of many creative meeting ideas that yield incredible results! When added to the meeting agenda, these activities help create an atmosphere of collaboration, allowing team members to take a step back and connect with each other before getting back on track with tasks. ‍

23. Tap Into Your Team

Can't decide which team meetings are the best? Divide your team into pairs and have each pair come up with three new ideas for the next week's meeting. This is an excellent way to generate new creative meeting ideas that you can leverage to host more engaging team meetings. ‍

Interactive Tools for Engaging Team Meetings

Fellow is the only all-in-one AI meeting transcription and management software for remote and hybrid teams. Not only are meetings with Fellow more impactful, but AI, behavior-driving features, and seamless integrations make them more engaging. In addition, Fellow creates a centralized hub for all meeting related content. This way there’s no scrambling to find where you saved your meeting agenda or navigating from tab to tab.

During meetings, you can remain fully present while your AI assistant is hard at work transcribing, recording, and summarizing the meeting content. Instead of focusing on administrative tasks, you can prioritize connecting, and collaborating with your team. The best part? Get 300 free minutes of AI recording and transcription.

Kahoot transforms presentations, training sessions, events, and meetings in organizations of any size by empowering users to create and deliver engaging learning experiences.

When hosting a live Kahoot, questions appear on a shared screen and participants vote on the answer they believe to be correct. Participants join a live Kahoot by entering a unique PIN in their browser, or in the Kahoot app, to submit their answers. The standard Individual Kahoot Plan starts at $17 and allows up to 20 participants, and the most expensive plan is $79/ host/ month.

Poll Everywhere

Poll everywhere is a virtual collaboration tool that empowers users to host interactive online meetings by providing the tools necessary to engage virtual audiences, capture feedback, and present live results.

Poll Everywhere can be used to seamlessly engage audiences during virtual meetings through live online polling, surveys, Q&As, quizzes, word clouds, and more., making this an excellent resource when facilitating new team collaboration strategies. Poll Everywhere has a variety of plans that cater to both businesses and nonprofits.

If you’re looking for a versatile tool that boosts engagement during meetings, Miro is an excellent starting point!  With cutting-edge features like timers, voting, a specific meeting mode, and chat features, Miro is built for running collaborative and engaging virtual meetings. In addition to helping users host collaborative meetings, brainstorming is where Miro shines.

To get started, Miro offers a comprehensive library of templates with numerous test cases, so you never have to worry about starting from scratch. Miro has four separate plans ranging from a Free Plan with its most basic features to an Enterprise Plan that is quoted on an as-needed basis.

Host more effective team meetings today

Virtual engagement has become a challenge for many organizations as they continue to embrace the shift towards a remote-first workplace. Remote work has become the norm, and as more employees begin to work virtually, the importance of engaging remote employees during meetings is more prevalent than ever. Effectively engaging virtual employees will enhance your company culture and ensure your team members are still as efficient and productive as they would be in the office.

Don't let unproductive meetings slow you down

See the impact of fewer, shorter meetings, increased accountability, and enhanced productivity with Fellow.

You might also like

Team Leaders: 10 Tips on How to Host Effective Meetings

To run a great meeting, keep the team aligned, and the agenda short, specific, and action-oriented.

8 Free Agenda Templates For Your Next Weekly Team Meeting

A few tips and templates for better weekly meetings. Download and use these agenda templates in Word or Google Docs, or use in Fellow for free.

Staff Meeting Agenda Guide (Templates & Tips) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

To transform your staff meetings for the better, start with the agenda.

Got something to contribute?

80 Fun Meeting Icebreakers Your Team Will Love in 2024

When people hear “meeting icebreaker,” they think of ”bonding exercises.” In this post I share 15 meeting icebreakers that are anti-boring and easy.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

When most people hear the word “icebreaker,” they think of boring, silly, or awkward. In this post, I want to share 80 meeting icebreakers that are:

• quick-bonding

If you are a meeting planner, team leader , or event organizer (or simply want to make your meetings a little better), you MUST watch this video for my personal favorites:

And if you want better meetings, you MUST send this article to your meeting planner. I’m going to convince you to upgrade the age-old icebreaker.

What is an Icebreaker?

An icebreaker is an activity, event, or game that is designed to break down social barriers, make others feel more comfortable, and facilitate social interaction. Icebreakers are usually performed at the beginning of a meeting or team session and involve a group of people. 

After hosting hundreds of meetings every year, from conferences to sales team retreats , one thing I’ve learned is that an icebreaker truly can make or break an event. Here’s the crazy science on this:

• Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton gathered 221 participants and had them form groups of two to four people. 
• Then, he asked them to do a campus scavenger hunt where they had to run around taking selfies in front of specific locations. 
• *There was a catch. Half of the teams were asked to do a pre-scavenger hunt icebreaker together, and the other half were simply asked to read an article together. 

The results were clear. The teams that did the icebreaker reported liking each other more . This is incredible! Icebreakers improved performance, time, AND likability . 

Here’s a list of my favorite icebreakers to avoid having those awkward meetings.

Virtual Meeting Icebreakers

Not all meetings nowadays are in-person. Some are virtual. These fun icebreakers can be performed anytime, anywhere, no matter the distance!

Icebreaker #1: Show and Tell

Best For: Turning coworkers into show-and-tell-loving third graders again!

This is one of my favorite virtual icebreakers. Why? Because it reveals what your teammates really value! Here’s how to perform this icebreaker:

• Ask your remote team members to grab a nearby item (or even send a personal picture through group chat!). This item should be unique to them.
• Share! Take turns sharing your item and the story or personal meeting behind it.

For example, I recently shared in my weekly team meeting a small personal item: a llama doll I received from one of my friends! It was a great way to show to my remote team how I value small gifts from friends, and an easy icebreaker, too. Win-win!

Icebreaker #2: Teach Something New

Best For: Learning new things, boosting confidence in presentation skills, and promoting engagement and fun in team meetings.

If you like having mini TED Talks sprinkled into your meetings, this one’s for you! “Teach Something New” is one of my favorite icebreakers—each team member will have, say, 5 minutes to teach everyone one little thing. It could be how to draw a giraffe, how to juggle, or a magic trick.

Here’s how you can introduce this activity:

• Encourage team members to think about a skill or knowledge snippet they can share within a 5-minute time slot.
• At the start of the meeting, ask for a volunteer to go first. They will have 5 minutes to teach their chosen topic.
• Other participants should engage by asking questions or offering thoughts on the subject. Remember, the goal is to promote a light, fun learning environment.

Icebreaker #3: Creative Selfie

Best For: Showcasing workspace creativity, bonding, and inspiring décor discussions.

Zoom backgrounds make meetings fun, but they don’t help people get to know each other very well. Location-specific photo challenges could start more personalized conversations because they’ll reveal new things about each coworker.

• Explain the Activity: Let everyone know they need to take a creative selfie at their workspace.
• Take Selfies: Team members take their workspace selfies—could be in their home office, a coffee shop, or an outdoor setup.
• Share the Pictures: Each participant shares their selfie in the group chat or designated platform.
• Decide the Winner: The picture that is deemed the most creative (based on your established criteria) wins.

People don’t need to share their location or name their city if they feel uncomfortable. The point is to showcase everyone’s workplace setting because it speaks to their personalities.

After the scavenger hunt, team members could also swap decor ideas to elevate their remote workstations. It may open doors to conversations about their hobbies, pets, and other interests based on what showed up in everyone’s selfies.

Icebreaker #4: Guess The Words (Codenames Online)

Best For: Strategic minds seeking to decode enigmatic clues and outsmart opponents in a witty word game.

If you’ve ever played one of my favorite board games , Codenames, this one packs all the fun—but now, it’s online! In this word game, each Spymaster tries to get the other team to guess a combination of words on the table by giving a one-word clue. For example, in the above picture, if you needed to have your teammates guess the words “Bowl” and “Knife,” you might give the clue “Kitchen.”

If you’ve never played Codenames, this one’s a great starter icebreaker that’s super helpful if you want to boost creativity.

• Head on over to https://www.codenames.game/ .
• Click on the CREATE ROOM button.
• Select the preferred game settings and start the game.
• Connect with your friends using your favorite audio or video chat.
• Share the room URL with your friends.
• Enjoy the game!

Icebreaker #5: Draw Anything Your Teammates Imagine

Best For: People who love drawing (even if they are terrible at it!)

Even if you’re not artistic, this game is absolutely funny and fun. Gartic Phone gives you a short time frame to sketch photos based on other players’ prompts—and can result in some hilarious artwork.

Imagine trying to draw your teammate’s prompt of “Harry Potter riding a unicorn in space.”

The weirder the prompt, the crazier the doodles! Here’s how to play this game that combines the classic games “Pictionary” with “Telephone.”

• Go over to https://garticphone.com .
• Whip up a nickname and select an avatar that screams “you.”
• Hit “Start.”
• Click the “Invite” button and broadcast the link to your team.
• Once the game starts up, everyone is invited to write down a hilarious sentence.
• Wait for a sentence from your colleague, and then give it your artistic spin.
• Next, it’s your turn to interpret someone else’s doodle by guessing the original sentence.
• Have fun and unleash your inner Van Gogh!

Icebreaker #6: Meet the Pet (or child, or partner, or plant)

Best For: Animal lovers, whether furry, leafy, or miniature human ones!

This icebreaker idea is super simple , and who doesn’t like pets? It’s best performed for remote teams that are newer and/or as a first-day icebreaker. Here’s how:

• Have your remote team grab their pets or show a picture of them.
• Start the introductions! You can start off with the basics (name, age, where you got him/her), but make sure to throw in one personal/fun story you had with your pet.

Pro tip: If your teammate does not have a pet, ask them to describe their ideal pet. Or meet each other’s kids. Or meet each other’s plants. Feeling funky? Ask them what their spirit animal is!

Icebreaker #7: Draw and Guess

Best For: Tapping into your team’s inner Picasso while testing their quick-thinking skills in a vibrant guessing game.

If you’re a big fan of draw-and-guess games, then this one’s for you! Drawasaurus is Pictionary with a twist where everyone gets a shot at the scoreboard—the artist and the guessers alike. The game slips a secret word to the doodler, who then creates a visual puzzle for others to solve. The speed of your guesses matters—quicker guesses mean more points.

If every participant manages to decode the drawing, the artist also hits a points jackpot. This sure adds an extra dose of fun to the classic game, doesn’t it?

• Head on over to https://www.drawasaurus.org .
• Choose a nickname (no stress, this won’t kick off the game).
• Tap + Create a Room.
• Make your room Private, give it a name, set a password, and select the number of players you want.
• Copy the link from the URL bar and send it over to your team.
• When everyone’s geared up and clicks Ready to Play, the game begins.
• Take turns picking a word to sketch, while others try to guess it.
• Rack up points by being the quickest to guess correctly.

Icebreaker #8: Explore The World

Best For: Best For: Armchair explorers and globetrotters looking to test their geography and deduction skills in a thrilling virtual quest.

I absolutely love GeoGuessr—it’s especially fun if your team is located across the globe or loves to travel.

GeoGuessr is a captivating global exploration game that virtually parachutes you into a random corner of the world, using a street view panorama. Your objective? To scour the surroundings for clues that might help pinpoint your exact location on the world map.

For example, GeoGuessr might drop you in a random spot on a canal, and you might use building signs or other clues to help you guess where in the world you are.

Here’s how to play:

• Head to https://www.geoguessr.com/ .
• Sign up for an account.
• Click on “Party” to create your own room.
• Invite your friends by sending them your unique room code.
• Start playing!

*GeoGuessr does cost a small monthly fee for team play, although it is still recommended.

Icebreaker #9: Phone Photo

Best For: Revealing hidden layers of team members through snapshots of their most memorable (or embarrassing) moments!

Do you want to get to know your team on a more personal note? This icebreaker activity is a great way to break the ice by putting your most embarrassing/awkward/awesome/proud moments up front for the world to see.

• Before the video call starts, send out a team message to find an embarrassing/awkward/proud/awesome/proud photo on their phone and post it in the group chat. 
• When the call begins, share the details about your photo! The more ridiculous the photo, the more laughs you’ll get out of this icebreaker.

Everyone has an interesting photo on their phone, so this is a great activity for everyone! Here’s mine…

Icebreaker #10: Partner Lunch

Best For: Cultivating deeper connections over shared meals and intimate one-on-one discussions.

Want a fun way to make a meeting more… dare I say… delicious? Enter: the Partner Lunch. This icebreaker requires a bit of prep work with your team, and it’ll be better if you’re in similar time zones.

• Schedule a time where you and your team can video call and eat a meal together.
• Find a partner. Randomly assign partners in your team to talk one-on-one for 10-20 minutes before your group call.
• Talk! Now’s a great time for the partners to get to know each other over lunch. You can even have a list of deep questions to help facilitate discussion.

Icebreaker #11: Personal Logo

Best For: Encouraging creativity, self-expression, and understanding team members on a personal level.

The Personal Logo icebreaker is a fantastic way to get your team’s creative juices flowing. It’s not just about doodling a pretty image—it’s a window into each person’s world, reflecting their personality, interests, or passions. Here’s how to get this activity buzzing:

• Give guidelines on what the logo should include—it could be a combination of symbols, initials, colors, or abstract shapes. Stress that artistic skills are not being judged; it’s the thought and creativity that count!
• Set a timer for the creation process. 5-10 minutes should suffice for a quick sketch. If doing this in a meeting, consider having a quick discussion while everyone works on their logos.
• Each participant shares their logo on screen (either by holding up their drawing or sharing it digitally) and explains the concept behind it.
• Encourage team members to give positive feedback and ask questions about each logo.
• If your team enjoyed this, you could even consider having these personal logos professionally made or used in some team swag !

Icebreaker #12: Scattegories

Best For: Engaging quick-witted competitors who enjoy a playful battle of words and ideas.

Flexing your rapid-fire brainstorming muscle becomes a thrilling challenge in Scattergories. The person steering the game can select categories as general as fashion and wildlife or as quirky as “famous comic book catchphrases.”

In every round, the game highlights a random letter from the alphabet, asking players to think on their feet and come up with any word or phrase from the chosen category starting with that letter. This game serves as a fantastic icebreaker, especially for those in your crew who can’t resist a competitive streak.

• Go over to https://scattergoriesonline.net/new-game.xhtml .
• Select your game categories, maybe you like “Team names,” “Thiings You Shouldn’t Touch,” or “Superpowers.”
• Hit the Create new game button.
• Set up the game’s variables—the starting letters (a majority will be preset), player count, and round numbers.
• In the “Who can join” section, opt for Invited friends.
• Click again on Create new game.
• Grab the link and send it to your teammates.
• Everyone will be racing against the clock to fill multiple categories with words starting with a designated letter.
• Get through all the rounds and discover which teammate boasts the most impressive word arsenal!

Icebreaker #13: Virtual Background Contest

Best For: Adding a fun twist to virtual meetings, sparking creativity, and enhancing team members’ storytelling skills.

This fun-filled activity not only adds a splash of color and joy to your meetings but it also nudges team members to showcase their creative sides and storytelling skills. Let’s see how you can get this show on the road:

• Challenge your team members to pick a virtual background that is uniquely creative or amusingly original.
• During the meeting, set aside time for each participant to present their background choice, along with the story or concept behind it.
• After all presentations, host a vote to select the “Virtual Background Champion”. This could be a quick poll or even a show of hands.
• Celebrate the winner and offer them a chance to lead off the next meeting or decide the theme for the forthcoming contest.

Pro Tip: Having a hard time picking a Zoom background? Check out our guide: 101 Best Zoom Backgrounds to Rock Your Next Meeting

Icebreaker #14: One Word at a Time

Best For: Storytelling enthusiasts ready to weave a quirky narrative, one unpredictable word at a time.

This game is commonly known as “One Word at a Time.” It’s a simple and fun icebreaker or warm-up activity for groups, and it’s also super popular if you’ve ever done improv as well.

Here’s how to get started:

• Start the Game: The first person begins the story by saying a single word. It’s often easiest to start with “Once,” but any word that can start a story is fine.
• Continue the Story: The next person in line adds another word to the story, and this continues with each participant adding a single word in turn. This can follow a designated order, like going in a circle or following the order of participants listed in a video call.
• Listen Carefully: Participants need to listen to each word carefully to make sure their word makes sense in the context of the story.
• End the Story: Eventually, the story will reach a natural conclusion. Typically, the facilitator or someone who senses a good ending coming might say “And” and the next person can say “The” and then “End” to wrap it up.

Icebreaker #15: Change My Mind

Best For: Encouraging communication skills, team bonding through friendly debates, and a creative way to learn about diverse viewpoints.

This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill icebreaker—it’s a fun-packed mini-debate club that can spice up your meeting. Best part? While your team enjoys this engaging banter , they’ll also polish their communication skills, flex their persuasive abilities, and experience the art of friendly debate. I love this icebreaker for flexing your creativity!

Here’s how to pull it off:

• Introduce the game and ask a teammate to share a non-controversial opinion.
• Set a timer for two minutes. During this time, the rest of the team attempts to sway the opinion-holder’s view.
• After the timer ends, the teammate shares if they’ve been persuaded and why.
• Repeat with the next person.

Icebreaker #16: Rotating Questions

Best For: Diving into your teammates’ minds through a volley of thoughtful and unexpected queries.

In small groups, you can use great questions to get people to open up. 

• Gather a list of icebreaker questions, or check out my favorite 57 conversation starters you can use.
• Have everyone take turns answering questions. If they don’t like a question, they can choose another one to answer!

Icebreaker #17: Culture Exchange

Best For: Promoting cultural awareness, fostering deeper connections, broadening perspectives, and keeping meetings engaging.

This simple, yet incredibly powerful activity, invites participants to share a tradition or custom from their culture. But here’s where we crank up the heat: don’t just stop at explaining the custom. Bring it to life! Share a personal anecdote, cook up a traditional recipe live, showcase an artifact, or even perform a quick traditional dance if you’re up for it.

It’s not just about sharing, it’s about experiencing. This allows for deeper connections, broader perspectives, and hey, it makes for an incredibly fascinating meeting. Just remember to keep the shares short and sweet to keep the momentum going.

Icebreaker #18: Quiz Time

Best For: Uncovering hidden team traits and testing trivia prowess with a friendly dose of competition.

One of the most fun icebreaker activities is to take quizzes and compare the results with your team! Here at Science of People, we absolutely LOVE quizzes. We’ve got a ton of quizzes backed with science to help you and your team understand each other:

• How open are you to new experiences? Are you extroverted or more introverted? Are you agreeable? See your traits in our Personality Test !
• Are you good at figuring out nonverbal communication? See if you can spot these cues with the Body Language Quiz .
• Have you ever noticed you date the same kind of person over and over again? That’s because we have specific attachment styles—find out yours in our Attachment Styles Quiz ! 
• Do you love trivia? You can check out a list of other quizzes on Sporcle .

Icebreakers You Can Do In Person

If you can’t take advantage of icebreakers for virtual meetings, don’t sweat it! Here are some icebreaker ideas you can do in person. 

And if you want to increase your charisma while you’re at it, check this out:

Unlock the Secrets of Charisma

Control and leverage the tiny signals you’re sending – from your stance and facial expressions to your word choice and vocal tone – to improve your personal and professional relationships.

Succeed with People

Master the laws of human behavior. Get along with anyone, increasing your influence, impact, and income.

Let’s dive in!

Icebreaker #19: The Candy Game

Best For: Sweet-toothed conversationalists ready to trade colorful candy for flavorful personal insights.

This is my favorite icebreaker because you combine easy bonding with the best possible ingredient: sugar! To coordinate this icebreaker:

• Pick your favorite kind of multi-colored candy–a bowl of M&Ms, Starbursts, Skittles, or whatever tickles your fancy.
• Next, pass around the bowl and ask people to take as many candy pieces as they like, but NOT to eat them.
• Once the bowl of candy has been passed around, each person has to answer a question for each color they take. For example, you can assign questions such as:

Red: What’s your favorite book?

Orange: What’s the best vacation spot you have ever been to?

Blue: What’s your favorite kind of food?

Green: What TV show are you addicted to?

Brown: If you could have any superhero quality, what would it be? 

Yellow: What’s the best part of your work week?

Icebreaker #20: The Marshmallow Game

Best For: Creative builders looking to showcase teamwork and engineering skills with a side of sweet victory.

Another icebreaker based on food? Of course! This icebreaker’s end goal is to build the tallest freestanding structure… out of spaghetti, string, tape, and a marshmallow. And if that wasn’t enough? The marshmallow has to be on top! Here’s how to play:

• Divide your group into teams of four.
• Hand each group these four things: 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow.
• Set a timer for 18 minutes. After 18 minutes, the team with the tallest standing structure wins!

This is a great team-building exercise and also forces your teammates to cooperate with each other. I also recommend giving out a prize to the winning team—stacking uncooked spaghetti is definitely not an easy task! This icebreaker was originally introduced by Tom Wujec, who made a TED talk about it, which you can check out here:

Icebreaker #21: I-Spy Riddle Scavenger Hunt

Best For: Injecting fun into mundane schedules, sparking adventurous spirits, and stirring up the team’s inner explorers.

If you want people to get out of the office, you also can have your icebreaker be a mini scavenger hunt. It can be around town, around the office, or around the building. 

For example, hunting for bugs is a great way to create an outdoor scavenger hunt for kids or adults. They can take a picture of the first bug they come across, which might not take long. Being outside will refresh everyone so they’re more energetic for whatever’s next on their daily calendar.

Want more ideas? Check out our list: 40+ Scavenger Hunt Games You Can Try Virtually or in Person

Icebreaker #22: Two Truths and One Lie

Best For: Laughter and bonding through uncovering truths and hilarious fibs!

I love the game “Two Truths and One Lie,” because it allows you to get a little more creative with your teams and to have some fun. 

• Start by asking each person to come up with two facts about themselves and one believable fib. 
• I have a pet turtle.
• Growing up, my family called me “Sasa” as a nickname.
• I speak Mandarin.

Can you guess which is the lie?

I do not have a pet turtle! Yes, my family called me Sasa because my little sisters couldn’t say “Vanessa.” And I lived in China during college. Fun facts, right? This icebreaker is a great way to get to know each other, and to have some laughs along the way.

Special Note: If you have introverts in the group, it’s nice to let the group know ahead of time that they should think of two truths and one lie for the meeting. This is helpful for not putting people on the spot.

Icebreaker #23: Desert Island Scenario

Best For: Adventure seekers ready to share their survival instincts and imaginative flair in a hypothetical scenario.

Spice up your virtual meetings with the Desert Island Scenario. It’s fun, it’s simple, and it’s your ticket to knowing your colleagues in an intriguing new way. 

Here’s how:

• Set the Scene: Tell your team to imagine they’re about to be stranded on a desert island.
• Pick Three: Ask each person to come up with three items they’d take with them. Real or imaginary, practical or bizarre, it’s their call.
• Share and Explain: During the meeting, everyone shares their chosen items and explains why they picked them.
• Have Fun: Enjoy the hilarious, touching, or surprising revelations!

Pro Tip: Give your teammates a heads-up to come prepared with their three items. Nobody likes being put on the spot, and it gives them a chance to think about their answers and let their imaginations run wild. Plus, it builds anticipation for the big reveal.

Icebreaker #24: Paper Airplane Game

Best For: Unleashing creativity and learning fascinating facts through airborne paper revelations!

I love this icebreaker because it is more hands-on. 

• Pass out different-colored sheets of paper to each person attending the meeting. 
• Then, ask everyone to write an interesting fact about themselves on the piece of paper and fold it into a paper airplane. 
• Then, everyone launches their paper airplane around the room. 
• Finally, everyone retrieves one of the paper airplanes, reads the fact, and guesses whose paper airplane they got. 

It’s fun to guess, and you learn new things about each other!

Icebreaker #25: Guess The Item

Best For: Sparking curiosity, igniting laughter, and providing a unique, tactile team-building experience.

Want to challenge your team’s senses and create some laughs along the way? “Guess the Item” is the perfect in-person icebreaker to mix things up. I love this game because it tests your team’s sense of touch and sparks curiosity.

Here’s how you can introduce this tactile teaser to your next gathering:

• Prior to the meeting, gather various objects of different textures, shapes, and sizes. Place each object in a separate paper bag.
• During the meeting, invite each participant to reach into a bag without peeking and try to identify the object inside only by touch.
• Allow each participant to share their guesses. The group can have fun discussing and debating what the mysterious object might be.
• Reveal the object to the group once all the guesses are in.
• Rotate until everyone has had a turn.

Icebreaker #26: Year of the Coin

Best For: Unearthing memories and forging connections as you journey back in time with coins as your guide.

Have a bowl of coins sitting at home? Perfect! They are great for icebreakers. 

• Sort through the bowl to make sure you don’t have any coins that are too old
• Then have everyone pick a coin out of the bowl. 
• Go around and ask each person to share something they were doing the year the coin was minted. 

This is great for getting to know someone’s past—and to test people’s memories.

Icebreaker #27: One Common Thing

Best For: Discovering unique similarities among your teammates.

This is a great icebreaker if you want to get people moving around the room. 

• Give everyone a list with each person’s name on it. 
• Set a timer and have people go around and find one commonality with each person in the room. 

The key is, you cannot share the same commonality with anyone else. If everyone in the room works at the same company, that commonality wouldn’t count. This is a way to get people exploring beyond what they already know about each other.

Icebreaker #28: Lego Tower Challenge

Best For: Encouraging teamwork, creative problem-solving, and healthy competition within a fun, hands-on environment.

Looking to unlock the hidden architects within your team and promote a bit of friendly competition? The “Lego Tower Challenge” is the perfect way to engage your team. This hands-on activity encourages teamwork, creativity, and quick thinking under time constraints. 

Here are the steps:

• Divide your team into smaller groups, preferably of equal size. Provide each team with the same number of Lego bricks.
• Set a timer for the challenge. This could range from 5 minutes to 15 minutes, depending on the complexity you wish to add.
• The objective is simple yet challenging: each team has to build the tallest Lego tower possible within the given time.
• Once the timer goes off, it’s time to measure the towers. The team with the tallest standing tower wins!
• Debrief and discuss. Ask each team to share their strategies and thought processes. This can lead to interesting insights about teamwork and problem-solving.

Icebreaker #29: Speed Networking

Best For: Rapid connections, exchanging thoughts and laughs in a lively speed networking setup.

A speed networking session doesn’t just have to be for networking or new people. It also can be for groups that want to get to know each other. You can even do this with a large group of people, as long as you have a big open space. 

• Ask everyone in the room to find a partner.
• Give everyone a conversation starter to answer and set a timer for two minutes. Each person has one minute to answer.
• After both people have answered and the two-minute timer is up, have them find a new partner and assign them a new conversation starter.

You can do as many rounds as time allows. If you have a small group, you can make sure everyone in the room gets at least one turn with each other.

Icebreaker #30: Pictionary

Best For: Harnessing creativity, boosting team spirit and light-hearted competition through drawing and guessing.

Here’s the last icebreaker and also a fun one: Pictionary! You can do it online, as mentioned before, but it’s also an amazing game to play at home —you can even bring it to your meetings as a cool icebreaker activity.

If you’ve never played before, Pictionary is basically a word-guessing game where one player chooses a randomly selected word and draws it while the other players guess what the word is. Normal Pictionary is played using a physical board and pencils/pens.

You can also print out a Pictionary board here and a word list here , and use candy pieces as playing pieces!

What Are Good Icebreaker Questions?

Icebreaker questions are a fun, easy way to get to know people and lighten the mood. They are similar to icebreaker activities but usually do not require much or any preparation at all.

Here are some great icebreaker questions you can ask!

Icebreaker Questions to Get to Know Your Teammates

• What is your proudest accomplishment?
• If you could write a book, what would it be about?
• What is the happiest moment in your life? What made it so special?
• What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done for fun?
• What is the best gift you’ve ever given/received?
• What is your dream job?
• What is something you were known for in college/high school?
• What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
• Where is one place you’d love to travel to?
• What does your ideal day look like?

Fun Icebreaker Questions

• What is your spirit animal?
• Who would win in a fight: a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?
• If you were a color, what would it be? 
• What superpower would you choose to have? Why?
• What was your favorite television show as a kid?
• If you had a time machine, what time period would you travel to?
• If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
• If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
• If you were stranded on an island, what 3 things would you bring with you?
• What song best describes you?

Personal Development Icebreaker Questions

• What’s one skill you’d like to improve this year, and why?
• Can you share a book that significantly influenced your life or career?
• What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
• Can you name a person who has had a significant impact on your professional development? How so?
• If you could go back and give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?
• What’s an accomplishment you’re proud of from the past year?
• If you had unlimited resources, what kind of project or business would you start?
• What’s a goal you’ve set for yourself recently, and what steps are you taking to achieve it?
• How do you handle stress and maintain a work-life balance?
• If you could learn about any new topic or skill, without any constraints of time or money, what would it be?

Travel and Leisure Icebreaker Questions

• What’s the most interesting place you’ve ever visited?
• If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
• What’s the longest trip you’ve ever taken?
• Do you prefer nature trips or city trips? Why?
• What’s your most essential travel item?
• Have you ever traveled alone? What was that like?
• What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten while traveling?
• Have you ever visited a place just because you saw it in a book or a movie?
• What’s one travel experience you’ll never forget?
• If you could live in any city in the world, where would you choose and why?

Work Preference Icebreaker Questions

• Do you prefer working in teams or independently? Why?
• How do you typically organize your workday for maximum productivity?
• What motivates you most at work?
• What kind of work environment helps you to be most productive?
• Do you prefer to have clear guidelines or do you like having the freedom to figure things out yourself?
• What part of your work process do you find most fulfilling?
• How do you handle feedback and criticism at work?
• What is your preferred method of communication in a professional setting (email, phone call, in-person, etc.)?
• How do you usually handle tight deadlines or high-pressure situations?
• How do you ensure a good work-life balance?

How Long Should an Icebreaker Last?

An icebreaker should not be too long, or it will take time away from the actual meeting. Icebreakers typically last anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes. It should last enough time for people to feel comfortable and relaxed enough to easily discuss more important topics later on in the meeting.

These are my favorite icebreakers, and they work for different-sized groups. When thinking about having a successful meeting or retreat, we often think about the basics, such as a strong agenda, a yummy lunch, and planning. These are all good strategies, but don’t forget about the professional warm-up. A good icebreaker can break the tension, break the awkwardness and, of course, break the ice.

To your success,

Popular Guides

27 thoughts on “80 fun meeting icebreakers your team will love in 2024”.

Hello Mam, I Abhisek from India I really like your concept for developing people skill in new and innovative way it’s really appreciate.. Thanks for giving new way of thinking..

Great ideas, thank you.

I really love your videos especially the 8 icebreakers to warm up meetings, I,d liked to hack 😊them in our virtual meeting, I’m also an aspiring writer and wanted to publish my own book that have part of games and add some icebreakers whoo , your book is interesting, I hope I could grab one sooner or later, thanks Miss Vanessa

Miriam Reyes from Philippines Teacher,Facilitator Aspiring Life Coach,writer and Motivational speaker

So helpful and fun. Thanks for the good job!

I’ve been working my way through these with my team over the course of the pandemic, and these ideas have been great. However, I was surprised to see the inclusion of the term ‘spirit animal’ which is now considered by many to be an appropriation of traditional Indigenous spirituality. Would you consider changing that to something like patronus, role model, doppleganger, inner avatar, animal twin? There are lots of other options!

Hi Bizhiki, thank you so much for going through our meeting icebreakers! You have a very valid point, and we have changed the wording to a more appropriate question. Hope this helps! Rob | Science of People Team

Hi, I echo Bizhiki’s objection to using the phrase “spirit animal” – and it is still on the page, despite Rob’s performative comment about changing it.

Hello! Thank you so much for helping call attention to this issue. We have insured that this reference and any others have been removed from our site.

All the best, Bekah | Science of People Team

We are having a little workplace drama in my office currently. I have decided to introduce some teambuilding warm-ups to our weekly team meeting. I appreciate all of the creative ideas here on your website. I will let you know how it goes!

Comments are closed.

How to Deal with Difficult People at Work

Do you have a difficult boss? Colleague? Client? Learn how to transform your difficult relationship. I’ll show you my science-based approach to building a strong, productive relationship with even the most difficult people.

Related Articles

Science of People offers over 1000+ articles on people skills and nonverbal behavior.

Get our latest insights and advice delivered to your inbox.

It’s a privilege to be in your inbox. We promise only to send the good stuff.

How to have a more productive team meeting (that staff and managers will love)

The team meeting. A necessary evil, an exercise in wasting time, or your organization’s secret weapon? At it’s best, a team meeting is a way to ensure your staff and management teams are aligned , that no obstacles stand in the way of company progress, and to create an open forum for dialogue and discussion . At their worst, team meetings can frustrate and cause more problems than they solve with many employees facing meeting overload . Can you afford to have bad meetings that could lose clients or cause friction with internal stakeholders when there is a solution?

Design your next session with SessionLab

Join the 150,000+ facilitators 
using SessionLab.

Recommended Articles

A step-by-step guide to planning a workshop, 54 great online tools for workshops and meetings, how to create an unforgettable training session in 8 simple steps.

• 18 Free Facilitation Resources We Think You’ll Love

As organizations develop more dynamic ways to communicate, the tried and tested team meeting needs an upgrade. You can have more efficient, fun, and engaging meetings with your team. In this article, we’ll show you how!

First, we’ll explore how to organize and plan more purposeful meetings. Next, we’ll show you what to put in your meeting agenda and then we’ll show you how to lead them in a way that generates results and connection.

What is the purpose of a team meeting?

What are the six types of team meeting, what is the importance of a team meeting, how to plan an engaging team meeting, what to put in a team meeting agenda, how to lead more productive meetings, team meeting faq.

At its core, the purpose of a team meeting is to share information efficiently and to provide scope for discussion around what is being shared . A good team meeting helps teams align on the topics of discussion, air any concerns or obstacles, and have clarity on future actions. 

The exact purpose of a team meeting is decided by the topics in the agenda and the business needs of the meeting and your organization. 

Your team meeting might be business-critical – a place where company developments or valuable information or training are shared. Team meetings can also be where your staff are able to spend time together informally and share what’s on their mind. Conducting team meetings to improve wellness, for open discussion, or simply to try something new are all viable reasons to bring your team together.

Key to a successful team meeting is to always have a clear purpose. Define what it is that you are gathering people for – their time is as precious as anyone’s and if they think it’s time wasted, it will work against you and certainly won’t energise the team! Jane Mitchell , Founder JL&M, Director at Karian and Box

The most productive and effective team meetings have a clear purpose in mind. As a manager be sure to identify the purpose of your meeting, whether it is to align your team, to have fun and get to know new members of staff, or to deliver business-critical information. Going into a team meeting with a clear purpose helps ensure you can stay on track and be more successful as a result. 

Not all team meetings are made for the same purpose. When you’re looking for team meeting ideas and what kind of meeting you should run, it’s helpful to consider your purpose and what you want to achieve.

Here are some of the most common types of team meetings, with a rundown of what they might involve and how you might run them.

Status update meetings

A status update meeting is one of the most common meetings you will lead, and one you will likely perform on a regular schedule. This often involves giving status updates on current projects and ensuring alignment on next steps for the week. The status update meeting might be a general catch-up, where staff and stakeholders can brief the team on their progress and give a general overview of their status. This helps teams stay aligned and discuss any challenges or barriers .  Regular meetings to discuss the status of a project are hugely helpful in ensuring everyone is moving forward in the right direction. They can help remove blockers and support further work while giving the project manager everything they need to manage effectively.

Information sharing meetings

All organizations will have information they need to share with their teams at some stage. An information sharing meeting might include presentations from stakeholders or sub-teams, keynote speeches, company updates or briefings for new staff. Subtypes of this meeting might include the company all-hands, training sessions, external parties delivering presentations, product demonstrations, and more. While some items can be distributed via email, there is power and value in sharing information in a live, public setting where you can clarify any points of confusion and highlight your key points. Remember that information-sharing meetings do not need to be wholly passive. As a team leader, you should consider where you can use activities and games to ensure engagement.

Decision making meetings

Team meetings that bring people together to focus on a common goal are great places to make decisions and solve problems. A decision making meeting can vary from information gathering and sharing, coming together to evaluate solutions, voting on a course of action, or aligning around the implementation of a chosen decision. In this kind of meeting, clearly setting the purpose and desired outcome is integral to its success. If you want to come out of the meeting with a decision made, set this expectation prior to the meeting taking place. It’s also important to ensure that everyone involved in the decision is considered and that their views are heard. Group decision-making meetings with a clear leader are an effective way to pool resources but also ensure action is taken.

Problem solving meetings

All teams face problems both big and small. These might relate to business challenges, internal politics, external pressures or particular projects or team goals.

A problem solving meeting can be a great place to employ out-of-the-box techniques and exercises , consider problems from new angles, and create change in an organization. Your problem solving meeting might even be focused on first clearly identifying and defining a problem with data, or creating a strategy to deal with problems that you expect may arise. Proactive problem solving is a great way to engage your team and delight your customers .

Innovation meetings

The design and innovation meeting is where your team can be creative, bringing new ideas to the table that can help drive innovation in your organization . Here, your team might conduct workshops, design sprints, and ideation games to generate innovation before moving on to finessing and honing those ideas into something more concrete. Though they might be looser in nature, innovation and ideation meetings should always have goals and outcomes in mind and be focused on creating actionable items you might iterate on in the future.

Check out the ideation workshop template to see how you might schedule and run this kind of meeting effectively.

Team building meetings

Every meeting you run with your team should be an opportunity for collaboration, discussion, and conversation : all items that contribute to building a strong and effective team. That being said, dedicated team building meetings are vital to building a vibrant company culture, bringing a team together, and to help keep everyone happy and productive. You might go on a company away day, facilitate conversation between previously siloed teams, celebrate your team’s successes, engage in activities and exercises, and unify your staff.

Check out the team canvas template agenda for a great example of how you might spend time on creating better team cohesion in an upcoming meeting!

It’s really important that meeting participants have clarity on the ’type’ of meeting they are attending. Too often people think they are there to make decisions when it’s not even a decision making meeting! Be explicit before and during, especially at the start to the meeting, whether it’s an info share, problem solving or decision making meeting and if it IS a decision making meeting what decision making strategy and tool/method will be used to decide!” Gary Austin , Co-Founder & Director, circleindigo IAF Global Director of Communications

Team meetings are incredibly important to a productive team and organisation. Ensuring that all the members of a team are given what they need to perform well, remain aligned and be happy and effective in their work is vital, and meetings remain one of the most efficient ways to facilitate teaching, conversation and change . 

In large organizations with many teams, there comes the danger of siloing teams or individuals away from the rest of the company. Communication between teams is integral to helping everyone understand business goals and company direction, all with the goal of promoting better collaboration and to prevent friction or frustration.

In a Fierce, Inc survey on team collaboration , they found that “ 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures .” Well-constructed team meetings promote collaboration and communication and can ensure that any difficulties that might lead to the above failure can be addressed before it occurs.

Consider whether members of your product team have regular contact with your support or success teams. Meetings that reach across teams and pull people who might not work closely together is a great way of sharing ideas and knowledge and ensuring that work done will be valuable and not repeated . Product teams can develop better features with the input of customer-facing teams; executive teams can only address staff concerns if they are productively raised and discussed. Team meetings allow this exchange of knowledge and expertise to occur. 

Asynchronous tools to help improve communication, log tasks and collect feedback are great and should be used, though there’s always value in discussing business-critical decisions in person or in remote team meetings. When a group of people get together in a room on virtually, you are able to iterate quickly, develop ideas and be agile. There is always value in putting your team in a safe, non-hierarchical space to discuss ideas .

The best teams communicate often and reappraise their goals, methods, and outcomes regularly. A good team meeting can be the most effective way to accomplish this, though a bad team can set your team back and even ruin morale. So how can you improve your team meeting and avoid time-wasting? Read on to see how planning, agendas, and good practice can make your team meeting more effective. 

Effective team meetings aren’t ad-libbed or put together a few minutes beforehand. Planning the structure, purpose, and scope of your meeting not only helps you understand the value it can provide but also helps you keep everything on track. Here are some tips on how to plan an effective team meeting.

Ask whether this needs to be a meeting

Before you schedule a meeting, ask yourself whether what you aim to achieve or discuss needs to be done in a meeting. Can the aims of the meeting be better accomplished with collaborative online tools or via other methods? Meetings without value or purpose can frustrate your staff or divert attention from business-critical items.

Every meeting should have a clear purpose and outcome in mind , whether that’s to generate ideas, teach the use of a new tool, or to eat birthday cake. If you do not have a purpose or outcome for your meeting, reassess whether it is a good use of your team’s time.

Remember that giving your staff an open forum to air concerns or to take some downtime and get to know one another does have value. So long as the meeting is the most efficient way of reaching a particular outcome, even if that outcome is an open conversation or simply having fun, it deserves to be run.

Clarify the purpose and expected outcomes of the meeting

Team meetings can be fluid in nature: certain topics may generate large amounts of discussion while others may be straightforward. The key to a successful meeting is to be clear on the purpose of the meeting and what outcomes you and the team should expect as a result. Clarify this early on in the planning process so that you can ensure your meeting is on point and so that everything you design for the meeting is relevant.

Create a team meeting agenda and prioritize your topics

Start by creating an agenda for your meeting, including all the topics you want to cover. Have a clear idea of what items in your agenda are most important so you can adjust accordingly, keep things on track, and allow for further discussion if necessary. Prioritize your topics so you can ensure that what needs to be covered is done so without issue, and so that any time in the meeting is well spent.

Being in control does not mean being inflexible : as a team leader, you should have a feel for what is most valuable to your team and this means ensuring that happens, but that you are able to adapt to what comes up in the meeting.

Collaborate with other stakeholders

90% of employees in the Fierce Inc survey believed decision-makers should seek other opinions before making a final decision . 97% of people also believed that a lack of alignment within a team directly impacted the outcome of a project . This is true for meetings as much as any other organizational process. Seeking the opinions and input of others and aligning ahead of meetings through collaboration is vital to making your meetings more effective. Ensure stakeholders from other departments have a channel to raise items for discussion. Use the expertise and insight of your team to deliver better meetings. If you’re briefing your executive team on product developments, get input from your product team and, if possible, get them in the room to lead the relevant sections. Team meetings are places to build bridges, whether that be between gaps in knowledge or between team members – help build those bridges by putting the right people in the room together. Be certain to judge how much collaboration is necessary for your meeting. A large-scale meeting about the direction of a company should have feedback and input from many divisions; a small group meeting about how to use a specialized piece of equipment, possibly not. It’s worth noting that facilitating collaboration with the right tools and processes is vital to make this work. Using emails to collect meeting ideas, collaborate on sessions and develop plans is likely to be inefficient and lead to things being lost in the cracks.

Tailor the agenda and format to suit the purpose of the meeting

A team meeting intended to finalize a decision-making process will need a mix of methods and techniques very different to a daily stand-up meeting. One size does not fit all and your meeting should be explicitly constructed with the purpose in mind . This might mean including icebreaker games if the purpose of the meeting is team building, or including design and innovation techniques for an ideation workshop . Your agenda may need amending if the meeting is for senior stakeholders versus the whole team. An open forum might benefit an informal discussion but you may need to employ a different model when leading a business-critical meeting that needs to be delivered quickly. Design your meeting to suit its purpose, the allocated time, and participants, and it will be much more productive as a result.

Be wary of fatigue

Some meetings are longer than others by necessity, though you should always consider the effect this will have on your participants. Allocate breaks preferably at least every 90 minutes, if not sooner. 

If you have particularly dense items to go through, consider how you might make them more engaging or easy to understand. Multiple formats for presenting information can help – mixing collaborative exercises and more discursive teaching can be a good way of keeping people engaged and avoiding fatigue.

Design your meeting with the attendees in mind

A small team meeting with your HR department will require a different approach to a company all-hands with dozens of attendees. You may need to adjust timings, put in additional items or construct your meeting differently. If you’re discussing development roadmaps with a team with varying levels of technical knowledge, consider the language used and whether you might want to circulate FAQs or explainers ahead of the meeting. When including facilitation methods, exercises or games, bear in mind the number of attendees and whether you might need breakout groups. A team-building exercise with dozens of attendees could take the entire meeting if not handled correctly. Remember: this will likely not be the first or last meeting people will have attended. If you are leading a meeting for design professionals, many techniques or methods will already be known to them and you should plan accordingly. Different skill and experience levels require different approaches and as such, you should know who will be attending ahead of the meeting. Design your sessions so that they are engaging and useful for everyone.

Know your audience and be humble in recognising that a burning subject for you may not be uppermost in the minds of the team! Once you balance that in your preparation – approach the meeting accordingly to get the best out of everyone and to meet your own needs. Jane Mitchell , Founder JL&M, Director at Karian and Box

Carefully select who needs to attend

If your meeting is for stakeholders in a particular topic or is focusing on a particular product area, it may not be pertinent for everyone in your company to attend. Think about who will find it valuable, who it affects and who has something to contribute. Always go back to your purpose and outcomes and if some people aren’t going to find value in attending, rethink whether they should attend. Frustration can arise if people are in meetings they have no reason to be in or where they have nothing to learn or add.

Consider the location and plan ahead

Are you using powerpoint or conducting a software demo? Do you want people to be able to break out into smaller teams? Ensuring you have the right location, room setup and resources for your meeting will keep your meeting on time and effective. Think about accessibility and the needs of all the members of your team when choosing a location and design your meeting accordingly.

Circulate your agenda ahead of the meeting

Giving your team time to prepare and arrive at the meeting with an idea of what they’d like to bring is imperative in ensuring a productive meeting. Some topics are complex and benefit from forethought – by circulating the team meeting agenda in advance, participants can get a headstart and feel prepared.

Give your participants clear expectations of the meeting

When circulating your agenda, ensure you give your staff an outline of what is expected of them . If they need to prepare material, be clear about what they need to prepare and exactly what you want from them. Are they bringing an idea they can present in thirty seconds or something more robust? Do they need to bring any equipment or materials? Do you need them to review a document or product prior to attending? At the planning stage, itemize everything your participants will need to bring to the meeting or tasks they will need to do before. With this clarity, both you and your participants can thoroughly prepare and the meeting can run more efficiently. At this stage, it can also be useful to set the ground rules for the team meeting. This might include delineating leaders, expected etiquette, attendance and more. This is likely to be reiterated in the meeting, but giving your participants an expectation of behavior and how the meeting will be conducted at this stage can help prevent future issues from arising.

Create room in your meeting for discussion

Realistically allot time to tasks and, depending on the meeting format, allow time for questions and feedback. It’s sometimes tempting to cram topics and exercises into a meeting and try and rush through everything. Ensure your workload and agenda is sensibly timed , and that you have some wiggle room if a task generates additional discussion or needs further explanation. If the subject of the meeting is likely to create a discussion among your team, it can be incredibly frustrating to cut that short.

Set a schedule and stick to it where possible

Having a consistent time and schedule for your team meetings is tremendously useful. Setting a routine is great at ensuring your staff will remember to attend and get into a habit of checking the agenda and doing preparatory work. 

People like to know what’s coming and scheduling your meetings on the hoof can lead to frustration. Set a schedule so your staff can plan around their work around the meeting and be at their most productive.

Expect equipment to fail and plan ahead

Technical solutions and audio-visual equipment can enrich any meeting, though what happens if something goes wrong? Can you afford to cancel a meeting because the sound refuses to come out of the speakers or your magic pointer is out of battery? Plan for the event of a tech failure so you can deliver a productive, effective meeting whatever the circumstances. This might mean bringing printouts, having back-up materials, or alternative ideation exercises. 

Extra considerations for virtual team meetings

Before you jump into a video call, there are a few more things you’ll want to think about in order to make the session a success.

Does everyone have access to the video app or the meeting link? Use google calendar or similar to ensure everyone can see the meeting and attend. Reminders in Slack or calendar software are also useful to ensure everyone gets into the meeting on time. 

Remember to consider timezones when selecting a time for a remote meeting . Your US team might not appreciate a team meeting at midnight in their timezone!

Should the meeting be recorded for other members of staff who may not be online can gain benefits? If so, how will that be done? Doing things last minute or finding out how to record during the meeting isn’t the best use of time – plan ahead so that your meeting runs smoothly.

Be sure to make it clear at the outset whether you want people to respond in chat, or by speaking up. This can ensure everyone feels able to contribute while also keeping your video call on time!

Lastly, you might want to consider the tools you’re using for your virtual team meeting. Combining the best collaboration tool with your video software of choice can massively impact the success of your session. Take a peek at our collection of free online tools to get started!

Setting a clear agenda can be one of the most effective ways of ensuring your meeting is a success. Creating a team meeting agenda that covers expectations, how everyone should prepare, and including the complete rundown of the meeting should be your first port of call when putting your meeting together. 

In short, your team meeting agenda is a tool to outline what will be included in your team meeting, including topics, times, and additional material. It is an overview that you and your staff can refer to ahead of and during the meeting. 

Want to get started with a complete example agenda? Check out our collection of meeting and workshop templates to get inspired and see a schedule in action.

An example team meeting agenda might include:

Meeting details: time, location, and host

News and announcements, progress report or follow-up on a previous meeting, future actions.

Make sure your team knows when and where the meeting is, and who will be leading it. Add contact details if necessary so participants can forward questions ahead of the meeting. The details or introduction of your agenda should also include goals and expected outcomes, what the purpose of the meeting it, and what do you want your team to get out of it. Having a clear goal and letting your team know what you hope to achieve can really help make a meeting more productive.

Don’t assume that everyone on your team reads every email announcement. Here, you can highlight key bits of news, share announcements, and give kudos to team members who deserve extra recognition. Beginning a meeting in this manner helps staff settle in and warm up before the real work of the meeting kicks off.

Was an item raised in the previous meeting that needs to be checked in on? Was a business-critical action agreed on that requires a debrief or status update?  If the subject of a series of team meetings is a particular project or initiative, you might discuss what progress has been made, what the next steps are and what obstacles exist. This portion of a meeting is intended to align and resolve any issues swiftly so that everyone can be productive once the meeting is over.

This is often where the bulk of meeting time is spent. The team leader or other stakeholders will explore the topics of the meeting with the group and lead them towards the desired outcome. This might include the teaching of a new product feature by a lead developer, a discussion of employee benefits, or workshops or exercises designed with a specific goal in mind. 

The format of this section will be tailored to the needs of the meeting and should be focused on fulfilling the purpose and goals of the meeting. If your meeting is designed to generate new ideas, this will be where you create space for exercises and group work. If there is business-critical information your team needs to receive, the approach you take might be more discursive. The important thing is that you go through the key items of your agenda in an efficient, productive manner. Outlining the key topics that will be covered in your agenda helps you do this in a cinch.

Opening the floor to your team and allowing room for them to feedback on the contents of the meeting or to raise other concerns is an important element of most team meetings. As a manager, creating space to listen to your team and encourage open, honest discussion is one of the most empowering things you can do for your staff.  It’s worth noting that there are many ways to facilitate discussion in a team meeting: you may have a plenary discussion, roundtables, town hall-style, note-and-vote, small group breakouts or an open forum. Tailor the form of discussion to your group size and the purpose of the meeting. Many meetings will allow time and space for discussion throughout, but having dedicated time towards the end of a meeting can allow your staff the opportunity to plan ahead and bring concerns that will benefit from group discussion to the table. 

Here is where you will wrap up the outcomes of the meeting and agree on actions to be taken as a result of what has been discussed. These might include follow-ups with particular staff members, new tasks, or items to be actioned ahead of the next meeting. Just as you set clear expectations of what you wanted from your team prior to the meeting, this is a place to set the expectations you have of staff following the meeting.

This list is by no means exhaustive and will be tailored to your meeting. If the focus of your team meeting is to discuss a business-critical issue, you may not have need for other news and announcements. If you having a team-building meeting, you may want to avoid more formal topics in your agenda. Remember: your agenda sets the stage for your meeting and affects what expectations people will have as a result. Your agenda will let your staff whether they are going into a meeting where they will be primarily taught, whether they need to prepare for group discussions, or if its a looser team development meeting.

So you’ve created an awesome team meeting agenda, planned everything down to the finest detail, and gotten everyone into the right place. How do you lead a meeting and ensure it is productive for everyone involved?

Conducting a team meeting effectively is an important skillset and is an often neglected area of managerial duty . The best meeting agenda can fall apart if a meeting is allowed to go off the rails. Here are some tips on what to do before the meeting, during the meeting, and afterward.

• Before the meeting
• During the meeting
• After the meeting

What to do before your team meeting

Preparation and planning is key to a successful team meeting. Here are some tips on what you can do before your meeting that will help it be more productive.

Be familiar with the equipment and meeting location

Are you using a projector to display materials or running a product demo? Check your equipment and set-up beforehand so that the meeting can run smoothly. Acts of gods can happen, but prepare for eventualities where equipment may fail. If you’re booking an unfamiliar meeting room, arrive early or scope it out beforehand. Are there enough chairs? Allow yourself time to set-up the room before it begins. Time spent arranging a room during a meeting will cut into your agenda time.

Allow sufficient time for prep

Giving your team the time to properly prepare for the meeting is integral to ensuring it is a success. If they have materials to prepare or read through, ensure that everyone has time to go through them. Sending a document last minute and expecting everyone to receive and digest it is likely to cause issues. On the flip side, ensure you have time to prep yourself. Getting to a staff meeting late and having to set-up in a hurry can mean your meeting sets off on the wrong foot. Giving yourself time to mentally prepare, particularly if the subject of a meeting is business critical or emotive is also important. Have time to take a breath, set-up the room and go over your agenda before you start.

Keep it lean

A team meeting is just one small part of the working day and productive teams will have other tasks they need to attend to. Keep your meetings lean and cut out extraneous items so they can be all killer, no filler. Tight, well-designed meetings are more engaging and will save time too!

Remember that time for questions and discussion is vital and should not be the first thing on the chopping block. You are the expert in what your team needs and what is of greatest value to them. Design with that in mind and your meetings will be more effective as a result. 

Be clear about the purpose and scope of the meeting

Not being clear can allow a meeting to be derailed or to focus on non-vital areas for too long. Always bear in mind the purpose of the meeting and adjust when something goes off track if it is not of value.

There is a fine line to tread between being rigid and flexible but any tension can be mitigated by being clear both before and during a meeting. Being clear about the scope of the meeting is also important: no single meeting can cover everything happening in a company and it’s important to know what can be accomplished in the time you have allocated. 

What to do during your team meeting

Once the meeting has begun, there are a number of things you will want to keep an eye on so that it is valuable and engaging for all involved. Here are a few things you can do to make your staff meeting a success.

Set the ground rules

This can make the difference between a productive meeting where everyone feels heard, and a meeting where people become angry and lose interest. The ground rules for a meeting might take the form of a quick word on how people can raise items, how they should interact with other members and what is expected of them or can become as exhaustive as a contract that attendees agree to. You should be clear about what is expected of your participants and also, what is unacceptable behavior. Becoming aggressive, shouting over other attendees or not engaging with the group are all things you might want to guard against by setting out the rules before you begin. 

Effective team meetings are based on respect, trust, and communication: your ground rules should lay down the importance of these items so your attendees can operate in the knowledge they will be heard and respected in the meeting.

Watch the clock

Keep your eye on the clock and ensure your meeting runs on time. This might mean wrapping up certain discussions early or allowing others to continue. You need to judge the value of what’s being discussed but broadly speaking, stick to your agenda and keep to your timings so that everything is covered. 

Ensure that there is a clear meeting leader

Even when bringing in other parties, there should be a person in the room responsible for timekeeping, leading and curating the meeting. This will ensure that if things get out of hand there is one person to defer to and make judgment calls for when to move on. This does not mean that meetings should be run dictatorially – it is simply important to have someone in control of the flow of the meeting and to redirect energies where necessary.

Model the behavior you want to see

Remember that as a leader you are modeling the behavior you want to see in your staff. If you do not appear that you want to be in the meeting, your team will pick up on that. Be positive and engaged, listen to your team and collaborate where possible and set the example for meeting behavior your team can follow.

Share responsibilities 

Trying to do everything as the leader of a team meeting is valiant but may not result in the most effective or enjoyable meeting. Collaborate before the meeting by getting input from stakeholders and domain experts. Share tasks if applicable and leverage the expertise of your team. This might mean having chosen attendees leading particular sections of the meeting, having a designated note-taker or person responsible for tech. If your focus is on facilitating the meeting most effectively, be empowered by sharing other tasks with members of your team.

Be flexible to business conditions

Try starting every meeting with a quick review of the agenda and of the parameters of the meeting. Is something business-critical occurring, or have some of the items to be covered drastically changed since the agenda was circulated? Business is fluid and as the leader of a team meeting, you should be flexible when judging if the meeting needs to change or be abandoned.

Be engaging

If you are delivering training, there are many ways you can transmit information more effectively and by engaging your team in fresh ways. A meeting should not be a one-way conversation and by trying proven techniques of increasing engagement, you can have more productive meetings.  You might include some exercises or activities to get your team to energized or think of problems in new ways. Remember that changing things for the sake of changing them can also lead to frustration. Not every kind of meeting needs an energizer or ice breaker. You are the expert on your team, and you should judge the tenor and make-up of the meeting accordingly. 

Consider inclusion and engagement and help everyone feel of equal value in the room – that they are valued for who they are. This means making the meeting accessible physically, but also socially/psychologically – e.g. the language used, waiting at least 7 seconds for people to respond to a question, using people’s names to invite them into a discussion. Remember that people “engage” in different ways – some speak up, others process thoughts quietly. Just “showing up” can be a form of engagement.  Laura Sly , Trainer, Facilitator, Coach, Consultant; YLS Ltd

Encourage participation by creating the right environment

When facilitating a team meeting, participation is one of your key measures of success. Creating space in your agenda for people to participate and contribute is important. Create a safe space where people feel they can participate without judgment. Set your expectations when it comes to participation and outline the ground rules so that everyone gets a chance to speak. Some team members are likely to be chattier than others: stay alert and encourage your less forthcoming team members to speak up. Ensuring that everyone feels heard and empowered to contribute leads to a greater range of input and helps build a safe environment for sharing. 

Encourage honesty and openness

All teams may disagree on certain points, whether it comes to direction, focus or strategy. Build an environment where your staff can be honest, candid and direct in team meetings. Encouraging your staff that honesty and candidness is not only encouraged but celebrated can help accelerate any process and ensure that every staff member can speak their mind. While there will always be a meeting leader, make it clear that everyone’s opinion is valuable, whether they are part of the executive team or a junior member who just joined the organization.

Take notes, minutes or record the meeting

Have you ever lead a great team meeting only to forget what the takeaways were as soon as you’ve left the room? Genius can strike in the moment and be lost just as quickly. Have a method in place for recording the meeting or taking notes. If you are leading a meeting, this might be conducted by another team member. For remote teams, this might be recording the video of the meeting or can be just as simple as having a notepad at the ready. Recording the meeting also means you have resources to learn from in the future and improve your meetings if something didn’t go well.

Make reviewing meetings part of the routine, something you do at the end of every meeting, so that everyone is learning how to do it better all the time. Three simple questions: to what extent did we meet our aims in this meeting? What helped? What got in the way? Give everyone a chance to say something and put the responses in the note of the meeting so you remember to make improvements next time. Penny Walker , Facilitator, Trainer, Coach, Consultant for sustainable development

What to do after your team meeting

Most team meetings will result in actions being agreed upon and further steps your staff will need to take. Be sure to continue the work done during the meeting with the following tips on what to do once the meeting is over.

Be sure to allow time for feedback both inside and outside of the meeting. This might be in a slack room, a google poll or an email after the meeting, but hearing from the attendees on what worked and what didn’t can be instrumental in ensuring the value of future meetings. 

Some questions you might ask can include:

• Were you given enough time/resources to prepare for the meeting?
• How did the meeting deliver value and meet your expectations?
• What would you have added to the agenda? 

Listen to your team

What do they need from your meetings and how can you deliver better value to them? This might come up during open discussions in your meeting, though its key to allow other forums for your team to raise these items without the scrutiny of speaking in front of everyone. You may even consider allowing anonymous feedback with a form or survey if the topics of discussion would benefit from anonymity. What’s important is that every member of staff can give feedback and have their voice heard in the way that is best for them.

Demonstrate value

Demonstrate the value of your meetings to your teams and stakeholders throughout the organization. Did your team meeting expose a customer pain point or result in a great new product idea? Were you able to solve a problem as a team that can benefit the whole organization? If your team is one part of a greater whole, share best practices and your findings. If you can prove your team meetings generate results, staff will likely be more engaged in future meetings.

Running better team meetings that engage your staff and increase productivity is not an exact science. Use the tips above but be sure to trust your instincts and tailor your approach to your team. 

Running a successful team meeting is an alchemy of planning, facilitation, great exercises, and engaging content. Is there something we didn’t cover above but is on your mind? We highlighted some of the most commonly asked questions about team meetings below for you!

What are the benefits of team meetings?

Is there such thing as too many team meetings, is the traditional team meeting dead, how do i make team meetings more fun, how should i start a team meeting, what should i do in my first team meeting, what are team meetings best used for.

When you bring your team together effectively, something magic happens. You can create a sense of energy and shared purpose, clean up misconceptions and remove blockers too. The best team meetings enable great work to happen without taking up too much time or frustrating participants.

It takes effort, planning, and good facilitation skills , but the benefits of a team meeting include:

• improved team cohesion and alignment
• clear designation of tasks and next steps
• removal of blockers and challenges
• celebration of wins and accomplishments
• space to brainstorm and ideate together
• keep the team informed of developments and upcoming items
• team bonding and connection
• opportunity to practice presentation skills
• time to give feedback and improve team processes

Yes and no. It’s true that many organizations have too many unproductive or dull meetings, but it’s also true that we still need good meetings in order to create high-functioning and connected teams.

Any manager running meetings should have a clear idea of the purpose and benefits of the meeting. If the meeting has no value or purpose, you should really question whether the meeting needs to go ahead at all. If you are running multiple team meetings, consider whether they can be condensed, made leaner or whether some of them can be replaced with collaborative online tools. Meeting fatigue is very real and burning your team out on an excessive number of meetings can only reduce productivity. 

No. Teams will always need to meet and discuss business items and, where possible, meeting in person is still hugely valuable. Creating engaging meetings with purpose and fresh approaches to engaging staff will help your team meetings be something your staff look forward to, rather than dread.

Slack channels and collaboration tools are great but do not discount the value of a well-planned and properly run team meeting where people can collaborate face-to-face.

Fun is a tricky concept when it comes to team meetings. Does every meeting need to be fun, and should a meeting’s value be judged on whether it is fun or not? Perhaps a better question would be: How do I make a team meeting more engaging? In a business-critical meeting where high-level items are being discussed, you do not necessarily need people to have fun, but to be engaged with the subject of the meeting and have clear takeaways and actions. In a team development meeting designed to get teams talking, fun should absolutely be a consideration. Use energizers, exercises and proven methods of engagement from our library to help people connect, build bridges and have fun. Every meeting should be the best version of itself it can be: if it’s a meeting where people are getting to know each other, make it more fun and include some energizers . If it’s a meeting where you are trying to improve collaboration between staff, make it more collaborative.

By focusing on making your meeting more engaging, your meeting will be more successful: successful teams inevitably have more fun. Create a positive feedback loop!

Warming up your staff ahead of complicated or emotive discussion is a great idea. This might include an icebreaker activity , the sharing of good news or announcements, or a quick debate on a small issue. Encouraging the activity you’d like to see in the meeting in a fun, brief form is a good way to ensure staff are warmed up and ready to engage with the rest of the meeting. Engage people with open questions to invite them into the meeting, set the tone, be positive, and make lots of eye contact. Remember you are modeling the behavior you want to see from your participants, and by making a great example, people can follow suit.

When you are leading your first team meeting, whether with an entirely new team or in a new role, you are setting the tone for future meetings and interactions with your team. Lead a poorly planned and executed meeting and you are teaching your team to dread your future meetings. Make a big impact by finessing your first meeting and creating a template for future success.

In your first team meeting, ensure you have ample time to get to know everyone, break the ice and have open, frank discussions. After your first team meeting, give your team the chance to offer feedback and help you improve – creating an environment of honest, unilateral feedback will pay dividends in future meetings.

Team meetings are great places to resolve issues and confusion with honest, open discussion. Items that might take dozens of back and forth emails to clarify can be talked through in a safe public forum and you can save time as a result. In many organizations, team meetings might be the only time you can get the right minds all together in a room for a single purpose. The collaborative atmosphere is great for developing ideas, problem-solving and fast iteration. Bouncing thoughts off one another in a meeting environment can be extremely effective and lead to unexpected outcomes. Team meetings are also best used for transmitting critical information in a way you know your staff will receive. Emails can be missed or items in a bulletin can be skipped. In a team meeting you can ensure everyone is on the same page and that any concerns and raised.

In conclusion

We hope we’ve given you some insight into how to lead a better team meeting and get the most out of the time you spend in meetings. Whether you run a team meeting once a week or every three months, taking the time to plan, collaborate and consider how to make your meeting more engaging is an integral part of managing and leading a team.

If we’ve left anything out or if you have questions about any part of the post, write to us in the comments below. We’d love to hear how you connect with staff in team meetings and your tips to lead the best team meeting possible!

James Smart is Head of Content at SessionLab. He’s also a creative facilitator who has run workshops and designed courses for establishments like the National Centre for Writing, UK. He especially enjoys working with young people and empowering others in their creative practice.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Going from a mere idea to a workshop that delivers results for your clients can feel like a daunting task. In this piece, we will shine a light on all the work behind the scenes and help you learn how to plan a workshop from start to finish. On a good day, facilitation can feel like effortless magic, but that is mostly the result of backstage work, foresight, and a lot of careful planning. Read on to learn a step-by-step approach to breaking the process of planning a workshop into small, manageable chunks.  The flow starts with the first meeting with a client to define the purposes of a workshop.…

Effective online tools are a necessity for smooth and engaging virtual workshops and meetings. But how do you choose the right ones? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or MS Office toolkit and email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing and delivering your workshop? Fortunately, there are plenty of great workshop tools to make your life easier when you need to facilitate a meeting and lead workshops. In this post, we’ll share our favorite online tools you can use to make your life easier and run better workshops and meetings. In fact, there are plenty of free online workshop tools and meeting…

How does learning work? A clever 9-year-old once told me: “I know I am learning something new when I am surprised.” The science of adult learning tells us that, in order to learn new skills (which, unsurprisingly, is harder for adults to do than kids) grown-ups need to first get into a specific headspace.  In a business, this approach is often employed in a training session where employees learn new skills or work on professional development. But how do you ensure your training is effective? In this guide, we'll explore how to create an effective training session plan and run engaging training sessions. As team leader, project manager, or consultant,…

Design your next workshop with SessionLab

Join the 150,000 facilitators using SessionLab

Sign up for free

17 Stealworthy Team Meeting Ideas

We’ve all been part of one from time to time. It’s the dreaded unproductive meeting. If you find that your team meetings could use a refresh, we’ve compiled a list of team meeting ideas to add to your agenda.

These are not icebreakers or team-building games. Instead, they’re activities that add value, drive alignment, increase collaboration, and build stronger relationships. Best of all, they can be done in person, virtually, or in a hybrid situation.

Team Meeting Topics

• Ideas for Getting Aligned as a Team
• Meeting Topics to Take a Pulse on the Team
• Group Meeting Ideas to Celebrate Success
• Team Meeting Activities to Incorporate Learning

Get Aligned

Alignment is a crucial ingredient for team synergy and success . Incorporating activities that build alignment between individuals on the team and with the greater organization can add significant value to your team meetings.

1. Complete a  Team Alignment Worksheet

Get aligned as a team by completing this editable worksheet that facilitates discussions on your team goals, values, and behaviors.

2. What's Our Vision

Collaborating to build a team vision that aligns with the company vision is a way to get your team members out of the day-to-day tactics. It develops a big-picture perspective for the team and gives everyone insight into how they contribute to it.

3. Share a Goal

When you describe a goal, you are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to achieve it. Have each team member share a goal they would like to accomplish in the next quarter. To prepare, share the goal-setting workbook before the meeting.

4. Update Speed Round

Set a 30-second timer for updates. Go around the room for each team member to give an update on what they’re working on, and if there are any roadblocks, they’re experiencing.

5. Ask a Leader

Invite an executive to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) at your team meeting on the corporate strategy, vision, outlook, and industry predictions.

Take a Pulse

Team meetings are an excellent opportunity to take a pulse on the team. Move beyond “how is everyone doing” by adding in these conversations.

6. Check-in on Change

Whether isolated to your team or an organization-wide initiative, going through change takes time to come to completion. Team meetings are an excellent opportunity to get insight into how everyone feels. To get a pulse, ask these questions and get their input by raising one, two, or three fingers, where one finger is not good, two are ok, and three are excellent.

• How clear is the rationale for change?
• Do you have all the information you need?
• Is the communication around the initiative clear and frequent?
• Do you understand what’s changing in your job?
• Do we communicate and celebrate milestones?

Take note of their feedback and make adjustments to your change management strategy .

7. What’s Working and Where Can We Improve?

Much like the speed round for updates, have everyone answer these two questions:

• What do we do really well as a team?
• What, if we did differently, would help accelerate our team performance ?

When everyone has had a chance to contribute, brainstorm on how to ensure what you do really well keeps happening and what everyone will commit to doing differently.

8. Give Me Feedback and Ideas

An easy way for your team to get engaged in the meeting is to ask them for feedback on the team meeting. For example, what do they like, don’t like, and any ideas for future meetings? Then, incorporate their feedback into your next meeting agenda to show you’re listening and value their input.

Celebrate Success

Taking time to recognize each other and the team's contributions can improve morale, engagement, and motivation. McLean Pollock, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Duke University, explains , “I think we tend to focus on the negative, that’s kind of a human trait. So being meaningful and intentional about pausing and recognizing that you’re working together toward long-term goals, and that you’ve hit milestones along the way , that certainly builds up a sense of meaning to the work.”

9. Claim a Win

Have each team member come prepared to share a win they’ve had since the last time you met and explain why it was a win for them.

10. Team Awards

A fun team meeting idea is to facilitate peer-to-peer recognition by hosting annual team awards where each team member is given one of their colleagues to create an award for. This is a creative way to show appreciation for each other's contributions.

11. Praise a Colleauge

On a smaller scale, from team awards, is adding shout-outs to every team meeting agenda. It’s an open opportunity for colleagues to recognize those who went above and beyond and made a difference.

12. Tell a Client Story

Invite a colleague outside of the team to share how the company made a difference for a client. It could be from the customer success team, a sales rep, or the shipping department. Sharing stories on how the organization's work impacts clients reinforces the company's purpose and the impact they’re making in the world.

Incorporate Learning

Adding a short burst of learning can easily be incorporated into a team meeting and helps break up updates and team discussions which can feel monotonous over time. Here are a few team meeting topics to add learning as an agenda item for your next team meeting.

13. Personal Development Presentations

Intellectual curiosity , the desire to learn new things, can be promoted by having each team member give a short presentation on a topic at a team meeting. It’s been shown that learning about a subject and then teaching it back to others has one of the highest learning retention rates. As a bonus, the entire team will learn something new as well!

14. Share a Hack

Across social media and the web, there are thousands of hacks for productivity, time management, and beyond. You can kick off the hack-sharing session by sharing a time management hack using a time-blocking template  or grab one of the many ideas from the guide Work Smarter, Not Harder .

15. Take a Quiz

To learn more about each other, have the team take a quiz during the meeting and share their results with the group. From uncovering conflict management styles to learning which style of leadership each team member is naturally inclined toward, it facilitates an opportunity to learn about themselves and each other. Knowing more about your colleagues can help build understanding and hopefully avoid future challenges.

16. Help Me Solve a Problem

To break down internal silos and promote cross-functional collaboration, ask one of your peers from another department to come to your team meeting prepared with a challenge to solve. Your team will get to learn more about another department while working through a solution, but they may also uncover innovative ideas for a nagging problem.

17. Run a Six Thinking Hats Exercise 

The Six Thinking Hats is a relatively easy exercise meeting hosts can run with attendees to make decisions, debrief problems, resolve conflicts, spark innovation, and kickoff change initiatives. It's the ideal way to break up the monotony of team meetings, challenge assumptions, and open the door for learning. 

Posts by Tag

• Leading Teams (96)
• Leadership Skills (63)
• Career Advice (57)
• Professional Development (49)
• New Leaders (45)
• Work Skills (43)
• Templates (38)
• Communication (36)

7 Free Management Meeting Templates and Tools

Whether it’s a monthly management meeting, an annual leadership summit, or an executive offsite, these meetings can become predictable and stale over...

The FAQs of Team Huddles + Template

A lot can happen on your team in the time between team meetings and one-on-meetings with each employee. Urgent requests come in. Workloads shift....

50+ of the Best Questions to Ask in a Meeting

When it comes to meetings, asking the right questions can make all the difference in the level of engagement you see from attendees, the quality of...

14 creative team meeting ideas to keep employees engaged and motivated

It’s understandable that managers can run out of engaging team meeting ideas at some point. After all, it’s the same type of session, with the same people and often at the same time every day, week or month. 

But team meetings don’t have to be dull and repetitive. In fact, if your meetings are, then you may need to act urgently to get your team’s motivation and engagement back on track.

Want to get the most out of your time? Try DeskTime for free!

Try free for 14 days · No credit card required.

By signing up, you agree to our terms and privacy policy .

In this post, we’ve listed 14 out-of-the-box meeting ideas , from simple and engaging icebreakers to reinventing ways how to run a team meeting. Most of these staff meeting ideas will work equally well for real-life team huddles and virtual team meeting activities.

Take the shortcut to team meeting ideas:

• Start with an icebreaker
• Change location
• Announce a dress code
• Try very short meetings
• Kickoff every meeting with a win
• Do an open mike about work-unrelated stuff
• Brainstorm using sticky notes
• Play “We’re alike”
• Organize casual meeting Fridays
• Assign roles to meeting participants
• Create a PowerPoint presentation
• Establish a meeting ritual
• Try different team meeting topics
• Give small incentives or prizes

1. Start with an icebreaker

Any meeting will be more effective and dynamic if people feel comfortable in it – not only to listen but also to contribute. Ice breakers help people loosen up, opening doors for casual interaction and better engagement. 

An ice breaker doesn’t have to be anything long and complicated. Some examples of fun 5-minute icebreakers:

• Quick questions – ask a few simple but fun questions you’ve prepared in advance, like What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Where would you like to be right now if you could choose any place in the world? Who was your teenage celebrity crush? 
• Emoji check-in – primarily aimed at remote meetings, this game can also be played out in real life, using sticky notes or a whiteboard. Simply give everyone a minute to choose the most suitable emoji that best fits their mood that day. 
• “No smiling” game – Tell everyone to stare at each other without smiling. The first person to start smiling or laughing is out of the game. The game goes on until there’s only one person left.

Such short games spark funny conversations among colleagues and help to find common interests. For more fun team building games and icebreakers, check out our post about remote team building activities , many of which can also be carried out in a face-to-face setting.  

2. Change location

Do you have a designated meeting room at the office? Or do you always hold meetings in the same corner of your open office? 

Changing the environment can work wonders for employee engagement and creativity. Try going out of your usual meeting room or even out of the building, to the nearest cafe or park. 

If all or part of your team works remotely, give them a challenge to join the meeting from a different part of their house, from the backyard or the nearest coffee shop. Such a tactic has the added benefit of helping your remote team get out of the house and change scenery for a fresh perspective and some exercise. 

Alternatively, you can simply ask that everyone adds a different background on their calling app. Seeing some colleagues on a “beach” during winter months and others in a “disco” is an amusing way to change the vibe of the meeting and spark funny conversation.

3. Announce a dress code

Try spicing up your monthly or weekly team meeting ideas with a different dress code, like the 80s, Halloween, or cartoon characters. A simpler dress code would be to announce “wacky Fridays” when all team members dress in a piece of clothing they have in their wardrobe but never wear. Try this tactic if your team members are up to such goofy fun – it won’t work if only one or two people dress up while others think it’s a silly idea.

Fashion devastation game is an awesome virtual team meeting idea. Ask everyone to turn off the camera for three minutes and wear the funkiest outfit they can find at home. Then, turn on the cameras all at once.

4. Try very short meetings

If your team meetings tend to drag on, try setting a 20, 30 or 45-minute limit and see where it gets you. Experimenting with meeting length creates a different meeting dynamic and structure. When you’re on a time limit, your team is likely to have more productive and focused discussions. 

If you’ve ever worked in an agile project management environment, you’re probably familiar with the concept of standup meetings . Standing up is an effective way to shorten the meetings because people tend to get to the point quicker. An added bonus is that your team will be physically active during the meeting, instead of sitting all day.

5. Kickoff every meeting with a win

Set the tone for your every meeting by announcing a recent accomplishment, noting a top performer in your team or expressing happiness at reaching a milestone. The win doesn’t always have to be a major one – it can be a positive outcome of a client meeting or a task that has been finished. Alternatively, ask your team members to share a personal win they’ve just experienced. 

If you’re looking for ways to make staff meetings more engaging, starting with a win is a pleasant tactic that sets a positive and engaging narrative for the whole session, simultaneously increasing your staff’s motivation. 

Be smart about your time!

Use DeskTime for time management, and always stay on top of your team’s efficiency ratings. 

6. Do an open mike about work-unrelated stuff 

Adding an informal aspect to meetings can foster team camaraderie and boost engagement. Open mike is an especially effective method for weekly or monthly review meetings, which tend to be longer and less hurried. An informal end for the week or month is an excellent way to wind down and finish off on a friendly, less stressful note.

7. Brainstorm using sticky notes

When your team needs to come up with an idea or solve a problem, good old sticky notes can be an effective tactic to get everyone involved – even the colleagues who usually don’t speak up. 

For example, pose a problem and ask everyone to submit possible solutions, even if they sound strange or unrealistic. Give each person a limited amount of sticky notes and ask to fill them all. When time is called, everyone should announce their ideas to others and stick their notes on a whiteboard or a large sheet of paper taped to the wall. The meeting leader should then categorize the notes and name each category. 

For remote teams, you can use online sticky note tools or simply categorize the answers in a Google Sheet that can be accessed by everyone or is shared on the screen. 

8. Play “We’re alike”

Randomly split your (virtual or on-site) team into groups of two to four. Task each group with finding 5 things that its members have in common. When each group has a list, everyone comes together to share and compare what they have. The goal is to find common things among the different groups of people in the company. 

This activity is also an effective icebreaker that helps to get to know each other, especially if some of your team members are shy or introverted. This can also be a powerful way for managers to learn more about their team for future team building activities.  

9. Organize casual meeting Fridays

If your company has a rather corporate culture, your team will enjoy a chance to get casual time after time. Think about introducing casual Fridays where people can wear their comfiest clothes and not worry about being looked down upon.

This concept works equally well for remote teams. Introduce no-camera meeting Fridays to let your team feel as comfortable as possible – even work from the bed if they feel like it. 

10. Assign roles to meeting participants

People will be much more engaged in a meeting if they are expected to contribute in some way. One way to make staff meetings more engaging and get everyone slightly out of their comfort zone is assigning roles to meeting participants. You can choose one of these tactics:

• Appoint a different meeting leader every time . When an employee leads a meeting, they can step in the manager’s shoes and see how it actually works. This tactic not only gives a fresh perspective but also increases empathy within a team.
• Assign several roles and mix and match them every time . For example, you can assign a leader, a time-keeper, a decision-maker and even add different fun roles relevant to your team.

11. Create a PowerPoint presentation

Lately, powerpoints aren’t in fashion, but we all know that some well-forgotten things can feel very fresh when they’re brought back up. Presentations will also be a good way to demonstrate the relevant information in an unusual, engaging and more memorable way.

You can either surprise your team by making an eye-catching PowerPoint yourself or assign this task to a different employee every week or month. Encourage your staff to go creative, use vivid design and fun photos. 

12. Establish a meeting ritual

Rituals allow your employees to take a step back from their immediate work assignments, bond as personalities, or share their views over bigger picture ideas. Rituals also help colleagues build stronger collaboration over time. 

A ritual can be any small activity that encourages positive, rotating communication and sharing accomplishments or insights. It can be something physical, like weekly morning meditation or exercise, or simply stating your thoughts about the previous week or month and sharing your plans for the next one. 

13. Try different team meeting topics

Consider introducing a different theme for every weekly meeting. This can be a work-related team meeting topic like original marketing ideas, new growth directions, team well-being, a better workplace, or something unrelated to work. You can either tailor all the meeting to the specific theme or allocate a part of it to discuss the topic. 

Choosing themes can help avoid your team meetings becoming stagnant or too repetitive. Looking at your shared goals and work environment from a different perspective encourages creativity and opens new doors for dialogue.

If your team is up for fun incentives, do a funny theme every week or month, for example, Hawaii or TV shows. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll need lots of preparation – a few decorations or some fun facts about the meeting theme will give the necessary vibe. As a bonus, you can add a fun-themed game, like a movie trivia quiz or everyone playing Robot Unicorn Attack as part of a Unicorn theme.

14. Give small incentives or prizes

Everyone loves a now and then perk or acknowledgment – a tap on the back that their hard work is noted and appreciated. Also, studies show that a vast majority of employees feel motivated by monetary and non-monetary incentives and that incentives lead to better performance at work.  

Team meetings are a good place and time to surprise your team with muffins, pizza, or gifts for employees as a thank-you for their hard work. Alternatively, you can hold a lottery or a game night with real prizes. Or, award anyone who comes up with the winning idea in a brainstorming session. 

Team huddle ideas for more productive and engaging meetings

Regardless of the size of your team, weekly or monthly staff huddles need a change of scenery time after time. We hope that our list of straightforward and actionable team meeting ideas will be a source of inspiration to reinvent your team sessions and make them more dynamic and productive. 

Did you find this article useful? Give it a clap!

Psst! You can clap more than once if you really loved it 🙂

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy

15 Team Meeting Ideas & Topics For Your Next Meeting!

Let’s face it – nothing makes us groan and roll our eyes more than a boring team meeting. This is mainly because some meetings tend to stray far off-topic, lack a proper structure and they simply go on for too long!

However, it’s understandable that you can’t always keep a meeting engaging and exciting. In fact, you may even be running out of ideas and topics to discuss.

But since team meetings are an essential part of any successful organization, it becomes increasingly important that you are able to create a positive impact on your team members.

So what can you do to make things different? Believe it or not, your team meetings don’t have to be boring or monotonous because there is always room for creativity.

By introducing new and interesting topics and formats, you can have more meaningful discussions with your team, and improve their morale, creativity, and productivity.

In this blog, we will provide you with a list of team meeting ideas and topics that will spice up your team meeting sessions and make them more interesting!

Are you ready? Then dive right in!

List of Team Meeting Ideas & Topics

1. kickstart with an icebreaker.

One of the best ways to start any meeting would be with an icebreaker session. An icebreaker can take up anywhere between 5-15 minutes and usually involves getting people to take turns in sharing their stories and experiences.

You can ask the members to share their weekend plans or have a discussion about a popular movie or TV show or simply casually chat about their day. You can even include games and activities to jazz things up a little!

Just make sure that you choose your icebreaker topics and activities carefully based on the size of the group and the kind of people you are dealing with.

With icebreakers, you can help people loosen up, feel comfortable and relaxed, and pave way for casual interactions and conversations. And nothing makes a meeting more effective and dynamic than that!

2. Include Work Wins

Appreciation and recognition are two highly underrated aspects of job satisfaction and weaving that into your team meeting will probably be one of the best decisions you will be making.

Positive news, winning stories, and achievements can always help boost the morale of a team . So you must make it a point to dedicate some time to acknowledge the work wins no matter how big or small they are.

Announce the accomplishments, celebrate the small victories, or take it up a notch and host an informal award ceremony (take some inspiration from Michael Scott’s Dundie Awards, if you must).

Little things like these set the tone for your meeting and encourage and motivate people to participate more in team meetings and discussions.

Read more:  50 Best Team Building Activities For Collaboration

3. Competitions

Here’s another team meeting idea that you can use next time – competitions. Sure, your company already has competition from other companies in your industry, but we’re talking about a little gamified version for your teams.

Break your team into pairs or groups and carry out quizzes or trivia questions or mini-games like charades, Pictionary, murder mystery games, or anything else that will keep everyone engaged. Points can be awarded to each team and a prize can be given as a reward at the end of it all.

These friendly matches and rivalries can make your team meetings exciting, fun, and highly entertaining. They not only involve everyone through participation but they will also keep the energy high throughout.

4. Change Locations

Going into the same meeting room over and over again can be quite monotonous, even for managers. In fact, it might even hinder your creativity. This is why you must consider a change of location every once in a while.

A good old-fashioned outdoor meeting can quite literally be the breath of fresh air that your team needs. You can simply conduct a little walk-in-the-park kind of meeting or go on a picnic or even change your setting to a cozy local cafe.

Now, if your team meetings are virtual, then you can use the quirkiness of Zoom to change your background. Decide with your team to pick a place to set as your backdrop, for example – the Himalayas or Eiffel Tower, or the Niagara Falls. You can even put on filters to make your meeting humorous .

The whole point of all this is that you and your team have fun.

5. Bring in a Guest Speaker

If you frequently have team meetings in your office, then the chances are your team members are bored listening to you talk all the time. What you can do to change this is to invite a guest speaker every once in a while.

The speaker could be an industry specialist, a business celebrity, a motivational speaker, or someone who can impart knowledge and skills to your team.

This not only makes your team meetings interesting and something to look forward to but it also helps your team learn a thing or two from them.

6. Create a Unique Meeting Tradition

If your organization wishes to create a captivating work culture , then one of the most effective ways to do this is by establishing unique workplace traditions.

means including events, rituals, celebrations, and routines that are specific to your company, such as bring-your-kids-to-work day, Friday night outs, casual dress code day, annual company celebrations, and many more.

This is a great team meeting idea. You can create unique traditions for your team meeting that will encourage positive communication and develop rapport between your members.

For example, you can have an end-of-the-month luncheon, pizza meetings, Friday presentations, closing chants, or anything else that will actively engage your team and make them feel part of a community.

7. Make Predictions

Another interesting team meeting idea and topic is to make predictions and forecasts about the industry and company. This can be quite a fun activity as well as an informative one.

Getting your teams together and making predictions about events and developments that may occur in the coming week, month, quarter, etc. will help exercise and improve your team’s critical thinking abilities. This can also lead to other fun activities such as trivial betting or rewarding accurate predictions.

This sort of team meeting brings the employees together and creates an open environment for discussions and debates, which can also prove to be useful for the future of the company.

8. Discuss Failures

It is often advised that you celebrate the victories or wins that a company makes, but from time to time, it is also important that you discuss and own up to the failures. Every company has its fair share of mistakes and mess-ups and it is crucial that you talk about them openly.

Your team meeting topics need to include a session that discusses failures and mistakes. You can put a creative or humorous touch to it by providing a platform to confess the silly blunders made by the employees.

By normalizing mistakes and imperfections, you help your team own their failures instead of vilifying themselves for it. The team can then offer advice and suggestions to correct their mistakes, refine their skills, and get back on their feet. This fosters a positive environment for learning, unlearning, and re-learning so that they can improve themselves the next time around.

Here’s a team meeting idea that can take you down the nostalgia trip – reunions. Invite back your former teammates and managers to simply catch and boost the morale of the team .

Having reunions will help your current employees learn a lot from their predecessors’ experiences, successes, failures, and more. It will also help them create and establish new networks.

Additionally, reunion meetings send out the message that your company values its employees as human beings. This can instantly create a positive impression on your teammates and ultimately strengthen the relationship between them.

Read more:  Importance of Teamwork & Collaboration in a Digital World!

10. Personal Updates

If you want to get to know your team members well and build better relationships with them, then a team meeting idea or topic would be to have personal updates meeting.

You can offer a platform for your team members to just get together and share their personal updates about house-buyings, engagements or weddings, family stories, graduations, hobbies, vacations, or anything about their personal lives that they wish to share with the rest of the team.

This activity promotes deeper conversations, breaks down walls, and helps team members connect and bond over their personal lives. It simply adds the much-need human touch to the mundane corporate life.

11. Offer Virtual Meeting Options

Sometimes people just don’t want to get up from their desks for a meeting that could have been an email, so a simple team meeting idea would be to offer the option of a virtual meeting. This will also accommodate your work-from-home teams as well.

On a lazy Wednesday afternoon, it would be much better to simply attend a quick virtual meeting than gather around in a room for it.

Not to mention, the real-time collaboration during a virtual meeting makes work easier and also saves time. It also makes it easier to share digital media and online presentations without interrupting the day’s work.

12. Work Skills Workshop

Another team meeting idea would be to conduct a workshop for work skills. After all, professional development is a crucial part of team meetings and there’s no better way to do it than by providing the team an opportunity for skills training and knowledge acquirement.

Some workshop topics that can be covered include time management, negotiation skills, personal branding, leadership skills, financial literacy, storytelling, and lots more.

Talk to your team members about their subjects of interest and conduct workshops that can help them develop their work competencies. It’s always better to have sessions that involve hands-on activities that allow for practice and encourage participation.

13. Ask for Feedback

Feedback is a team meeting topic that every company needs to incorporate into their team meetings. It is also one of the best ways to improve your team meetings as well.

Simply, ask your team members how your meetings can be improved and what methods need to be incorporated to improve efficiency and productivity . You can also carry out Q&A sessions, surveys, polls, voting sessions, and other forms of feedback

Just make sure that you encourage regular and continuous feedback throughout the year.

14. Allow Flexibility

It’s important to remember that not all meetings require the presence of your entire team, as some of them are specific topics that only affect a portion of your team. The sooner you realize that the better it is for everyone on your team.

So the next time you are setting up a meeting, you need to specify if it is a general meeting or a specific one and offer the flexibility to not attend the meeting to members who may not have relevant experience or feedback.

15. Keep Short Meetings

Lastly, let’s address the elephant in the room and face the facts – nobody really likes meetings. And to be brutally honest with you, your team would prefer it if there were no meetings at all. But since that’s not possible, the next best thing you can do is to make your meetings as short and brief as possible.

Try not to drag your meetings unnecessarily and make sure that they don’t go beyond 20-30 minutes. Keep a time limit and try to stick to it as much as you can. This means that you always start and end your meetings on time.

This way, you make your team understand that their time and presence are valued, which will ultimately help you have more productive and focused discussions with them.

Whether you are a startup or a multinational company, team meetings are an indispensable part of your day-to-day life. And the fact of the matter is that the average employee spends a considerable amount of time attending these meetings.

To be honest, these routine meetings can often grow stale, so it’s extremely crucial that sometimes there is a need for a change of scenery.

We hope that the list of team meeting ideas and topics that we provided will inspire you to reinvent your team meeting sessions and make them more dynamic and productive. Best of luck!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Que – what is the best topic in a meeting.

The best topic for a meeting depends on the meeting’s objective. Commonly, effective meeting topics include project updates, brainstorming sessions, strategic planning, and problem-solving. The key is to ensure the topic aligns with the meeting’s goals and engages all participants.

Que – How do you make team meetings fun?

To make team meetings fun, incorporate interactive elements such as icebreakers, team-building activities, and creative brainstorming sessions. Encourage open dialogue, use multimedia presentations, and occasionally include light-hearted topics or games to keep the atmosphere lively and engaging.

Que – What are good team meeting questions?

Good team meeting questions encourage participation and insight. Examples include: “What are our top priorities this week?”, “What challenges are you facing, and how can we address them?”, “What recent successes can we celebrate?”, and “How can we improve our current processes?”

Que – What is appropriate to discuss at team meetings?

Appropriate topics for team meetings include project updates, team goals, upcoming deadlines, problem-solving, feedback on processes, and strategic planning. It’s important to focus on subjects that are relevant to the team’s work and foster productive discussion.

Que – How often should team meetings be held?

The frequency of team meetings depends on the team’s needs and project timelines. Weekly meetings are common for maintaining progress and communication, while bi-weekly or monthly meetings may be sufficient for teams with fewer updates or ongoing projects. Adjust the frequency based on the team’s workload and project requirements.

Que – What are some tips for leading an effective team meeting?

To lead an effective team meeting, prepare a clear agenda, set specific objectives, keep the discussion focused, encourage participation from all team members, and manage time efficiently. Follow up with action items and ensure accountability to maintain productivity and progress.

Que – How can you handle conflicts during a team meeting?

To handle conflicts during a team meeting, stay calm and neutral, listen to all perspectives, and encourage constructive dialogue. Focus on finding common ground and solutions rather than assigning blame. If necessary, follow up with individuals outside the meeting to resolve issues more deeply.

Que – What are the benefits of virtual team meetings?

Virtual team meetings offer benefits such as flexibility in scheduling, reduced travel time, and the ability to include team members from different locations. They also facilitate real-time communication and collaboration using various digital tools and platforms.

Que – How do you ensure everyone is engaged during a team meeting?

To ensure engagement, involve all team members by asking questions, soliciting feedback, and encouraging discussion. Use visual aids, interactive tools, and varying meeting formats to maintain interest. Additionally, create a supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing.

Further reads:

Team Plan: What is it & How to Create it?

15 Team Building Skills You Must Develop for Better Collaboration!

13 Online Meeting Apps, Platforms & Software for Remote Teams!

9 Virtual Team Building Games for Remote Employees!

10 Team Management Software Every Business Should be Using!

Top 10 Benefits of Teamwork You Must Know!

Team Collaboration: Why You Need To Invest In It?

11 Benefits of Team Building You Need to Know!

How To Write an Effective Meeting Recap with a Summary? (Steps)

6 Ways Digital Transformation Can Fastrack Your Business Growth in 2023

Partnership Proposal: Definition, Importance & Steps!

Related posts

8 best digital assets management software in 2024, what is rental agreement and how to create it, sales pitch: what is it & how to create a killer one, what is change management and how to cope with it, 7 remote tools to help counter coronavirus pandemic, project calendar: what is it & how to create it.

About Bit.ai

Bit.ai is the essential next-gen workplace and document collaboration platform. that helps teams share knowledge by connecting any type of digital content. With this intuitive, cloud-based solution, anyone can work visually and collaborate in real-time while creating internal notes, team projects, knowledge bases, client-facing content, and more.

The smartest online Google Docs and Word alternative, Bit.ai is used in over 100 countries by professionals everywhere, from IT teams creating internal documentation and knowledge bases, to sales and marketing teams sharing client materials and client portals.

👉👉Click Here to Check out Bit.ai.

Recent Posts

Essential hr documents for every business: a comprehensive guide, the ultimate guide to creating sales documents [examples included], 20 most popular construction document templates (editable), 2024’s ultimate document template guide for modern educators, 20 ready-to-use marketing templates to elevate your business impact, top knowledge-sharing practices to maximize manufacturing performance.

  Vantage Rewards

A people first rewards and recognition platform to elevate company culture.

  Vantage Pulse

An eNPS-based pulse survey tool that empowers HRs to manage the workforce better.

  Vantage Perks

A corporate discounts platform with a plethora of exclusive deals and offers from global brands.

  Vantage Fit

A gamified corporate wellness platform that keeps the workforce ‘Fit’ and rewards them for it.

  Vantage Gifting

An all-in-one corporate gifting solution to delight your employees on every occasion & make them feel valued.

  AIR e Consultation

AIR e program consultation to design and implement an authentic and impactful rewards and recognition program.

  Vantage Onboarding

Customizable and budget-friendly joining kits to create a sense of belonging and make new hires feel at home

  Integration

Seamless integration with your existing HCM/HRIS platform and chat tools.

  Product Updates

Check out all the new stuff we are adding to our products to constantly improve them for better experience.

   Blog

  Influencers Podcast

  Guides & eBooks

  Webinars

  Industry Reports

  AIR e Framework

 Vantage Rewards

 Vantage Perks

 Vantage Pulse

 Vantage Fit

 Vantage Gifting

An all-in-one corporate gifting solution to delight your employees on every occasion & make them feel valued.

 AIR e Consultation

 Vantage Onboarding

15 Interesting Team Meeting Ideas For Enhanced Team Engagement

Office or team meetings are an important part of a successful organization. However, the most critical issue with meetings is that they are monotonous and do nothing to improve employee engagement. But what if you come across some great team meeting ideas that can help the efficiency of these meetings skyrocket?

You must tap into your creative side to make meetings more impactful, effective, and enjoyable. Moreover, you need to keep the meetings short yet effective to meet the goals and objectives of the meeting. Also, did you know that In 2020, 36% of the meetings’ duration was evaluated to be 30 minutes, while only 20% of meetings ran for one hour.

If productivity is your goal, the hour-long meetings do nothing to help your cause.

Don’t be worried about how you can inject engagement into your team meetings. This article will provide great and healthy ideas for encouraging and engaging your employees during meetings.

15 Great Team Meeting Ideas For Better Engagement

Here is a list of some ideas you can try out for your team and see if it works to increase engagement and reduce fatigue.

1. Start With A Quiz

One surefire way to make team meetings interesting is by starting them with questions relevant to the discussion. You can think of it as a brain teaser kind of a thing that will test your employees. The main aim is to understand how well your employees are acquainted with the topic.

Moreover, it will also turn them into active participants and discuss ideas they would otherwise have missed out on. This will create a perfect opportunity to prioritize the topics discussed in the meeting.

Make sure the questions are engaging and interesting.

2. Start the meeting with a win

It is always a good idea to start something on a positive note. Start any meeting that the team has accomplished. This will motivate the employees to keep doing the good work. It is a positive reinforcement that will undoubtedly boost the meeting’s energy and employee morale .

Employees will look forward to attending such meetings because they know the environment will be positive and constructive.

Be appreciative of each team member and their contributions to the organization.

3. Try Out Different Locations

When meetings are conducted in the same setting, it can become dull and monotonous in the long run and drain the employees. There is a higher chance that It will diminish their willingness to join the meeting in the long run.

So, the best alternative to keep the encouragement alive is to conduct team meetings in different locations. This will allow a change in scenery and a refreshing environment that can help boost creativity .

(Source: Twitter )

Keep in mind to maintain consistency and do not overdo it. Overdoing will lead the employees off track, and the employees will miss the whole agenda. It will cause an eventual drop in productivity and engagement.

4. Role Play

To make things interesting during your team meeting, you can introduce the idea of role-playing. The focus should be on incorporating the element of fun without getting sidetracked from the main topic.

You can assign roles to your employees to act as your client, providing a different perspective. This will enable you and your team to think and prioritize the client's needs. In the long run, with the help of this idea, you can increase customer satisfaction and build a concrete reputation for the organization.

5. Set A Clear Agenda

Before the meeting, make sure you have a clear plan of action. It gives a clear purpose and meaning to the team meeting. With the help of the plan, employees can determine the significance of the meeting and align their work accordingly. If there is no alignment, there will be a drop in productivity and performance. A survey has shown that 97% of employees believed that a lack of alignment within a team directly impacted project outcomes.

However, the most important thing about setting the agenda is that employees will not get sidetracked. It will help them to stick with the main purpose of the meeting and focus their limited time on things that matter. On top of that, it allows the team to brainstorm new ideas about the topic, eventually leading to a better way of doing things.

6. Encourage Opinions

Team unity is a crucial component if you want to achieve long-term success. It is hard to bring out the best in a team without unity. A survey found that 90% of employees believed decision-makers should seek others' opinions before making a final decision. This helps in promoting inclusiveness and maintains a balance.

Every team member must be on the same page to perform at their best. The team should have mutual respect and understanding, which is achievable when everyone is treated equally.

During team meetings or discussions, encourage everyone to share their opinion. Everyone should put forward their ideas that can produce productive sessions. Doing so will help you build a creative team and be ready to face new challenges.

Motivate your team before the session starts and make them comfortable.

7. Focus on Icebreakers

The initial minutes of a team meeting are critical, as it will set the tone of how the meeting will turn out. Use the first minutes to conduct some icebreakers, such as asking questions about how they are doing and what is on their weekend agenda.

For example, ask everyone to share their funny experiences of their past that will lighten up the mood. Ask it to a random person or ask everyone to share their responses. The only rule is that it should make everyone loosen up and share a laugh. The more laid back they are, the better the team meeting will be.

Read more: 200 Best Icebreaker Questions For Work

8. Keep the meeting flexible

Flexibility is something that everyone in the organization enjoys. Be it during work hours or holidays; it is a perk that is essential. The same goes for team meetings as well. A flexible team meeting will keep the team's schedule open and allow employees to join in the conversation whenever they want.

Remember to have a fixed timing and a clear plan in front of everyone so that no one misses out on crucial information. A flexible meeting will also enhance your work culture and create a unique work environment .

9. Keep an Hourglass

Using an hourglass during a meeting might seem like an old-school thing; however, it can be fun to do during meetings.

You can assign different employees as timekeepers during various discussions and ask them to keep track of the time. Once the designated time is over for a particular topic, they will shout “time” so that everyone can move on to the next one.

This will increase your employees' adaptability, quick thinking, and problem-solving ability. Moreover, doing so will enable engagement during meetings, and employees will think out of the box.

10. Introduce a food pantry

Meetings can be exhausting, so providing refreshments during the discussion can work wonders. It will help rejuvenate the employees and provide the necessary break.

You can introduce a food pantry to make the idea successful at the meeting location. Keep things flexible and instruct your employees to access the pantry whenever they feel like it during the discussion. The main strategy behind introducing such an idea is to improve participation and concentration while reducing employee burnout .

Do not include foods that might harm the religious sentiment of an employee.

11. Build A Wall of Ideas

As previously stated, a clear plan or agenda will be the foundation of your meeting. It will allow ideas to flow between members of your team. And, to have a robust discussion about all the ideas discussed, you'll need to put them somewhere where everyone can see them. The best way to accomplish this is to construct an idea wall to project their creativity. You can use sticky notes or a whiteboard to allow employees to present their ideas to the team.

Doing so will maintain a balance between the team members and create an environment where everyone is treated equally. This would boost morale and encourage employees to become more creative.

12. Hold Short Meetings

The secret to a productive meeting is to keep it short and to the point. Hold your team meetings no longer than 30 or 40 minutes. A short span of time tends to be more constructive as employees like to spend less time in formal meetings.

Employees lose interest in the meeting if it stretches for too long, and they tend to get distracted, which diminishes the efficiency of each individual. In the long run, extended and frequent sessions will negatively affect the workforce's overall engagement.

13. Rotate Members to take the lead

As a manager, you might feel your responsibility is to take the lead during every team meeting. But that can be quite daunting most of the time. To test out the leadership qualities of team members, you can delegate the duty to each team member.

This will provide a different dynamic to your team meetings and allow you to explore different perspectives. Moreover, rotating team members will help you strategize for various projects without hiccups. It will also foster learning and provide a new experience for the employees.

Try to give each member a different task to lead a meeting.

14. Use Different Themes

Meetings, when done frequently, can be boring and exhausting. And if the same topic is discussed over and over with the same basic idea, employees get sidetracked quite easily.

However, you can start a meeting with different initiatives while keeping the agenda clear to everyone. Themes include famous television series or mythical presentations like The Office or The Big Bang Theory. Remember that it should be enjoyable, engaging, and to the point so that employees have a thorough understanding of the project and are not missing out on anything crucial.

15. Keep Q&A Sessions

Conduct a brief Q&A session after each meeting to leave no one in the dark about what was discussed. This will promote inclusivity and allow the employees to put forward their concerns.

However, not addressing your employees' concerns might lead to confusion that can hamper the project's success. Moreover, if employees do not have a full picture of everything discussed in meetings, there may be conflict in later team discussions.

Summing it Up!

Use these ideas the way you like and get creative around it. Afterall, effectiveness and productivity is all you want while conducting meetings. Moreover, try to be more inclusive and empowering so that employees feel valued and an important part of team meetings.

Mrinmoy Rabha is a content writer and digital marketer at Vantage Circle . He is an avid follower of football and passionate about singing. For any related queries, contact [email protected]

We safeguard your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy

You might also like

Microaggressions in the workplace: understanding & navigating unconscious bias, top 15 examples of company culture done right, what is diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (deib).

50k+ Downloads by HR professionals across the globe!

The Ultimate Guide to Employee Rewards and Recognition

5k+ Downloads by HR professionals across the Globe!

• Virtual Experiences
• In-Person Experiences
• Hybrid Experiences
• Attend a Demo
• Experience FAQ
• Features & Benefits
• How Pricing Works
• Client Testimonials
• Happiness Guarantee
• Schedule Call
• View Experiences

12 Top Team Building PowerPoint Topics

By: Grace He | Updated: May 11, 2023

Here is our list of the best team building PowerPoint topics .

Team building PowerPoint topics are ideas for presentation slides that teach about and foster team building. Examples include the goals of team building, team building topics, and five-minute team building activities. The purpose of these PowerPoints is to teach audiences about the benefits of team building and have them conduct some team building exercises.

Team building PowerPoint presentations are similar to virtual team meeting ideas , online team huddle ideas , and out-of-the-box team meeting ideas .

This list includes:

• team building PowerPoint
• team building presentations
• team building PowerPoint presentation
• team building slide ideas

Let’s get to it!

List of team building PowerPoint topics

When writing a PowerPoint on team building, it is important to create engaging slides. This way, audience members will want to focus on your presentation and implement your team building tips. To learn about the top subjects you can cover in your team building presentation, check out these team building slide ideas.

1. What is team building?

To start, some folks may not even be familiar with the idea of team building. Depending on your industry and your employees’ backgrounds, they may have never gotten the chance to bond with their team members. In that case, explaining what team building is creates a strong foundation for future interactions.

Here are some topics your slides can cover:

• Definition of team building
• Who can participate in team building
• Benefits of team building
• Examples of team building activities

At the end of this session, you can host a team building activity as an example. After sharing this info with your team, be sure to keep hosting regular team building activities. That way, employees can experience the many benefits of these exercises.

Learn more about the history of team building .

2. How to do team building

Staff members may be excited to get the team building experiences rolling, but they may not know where to begin. In that case, hosting a presentation on how to host these exercises may be beneficial.

• General event planning tips
• How to focus games and activities on your team’s needs
• Types of exercises teams can try
• When to schedule team building activities
• How to make team building accessible for all members

After this session, consider asking attendees to take what they learned and plan a team outing together. This plan could be hypothetical, or you could implement it at the end of the meeting. As a bonus, planning an activity together counts as a team building experience!

For more information, check out these articles on the team building process and team building elements .

Get our free team building toolbox

• icebreaker games
• bingo cards

3. Goals of team building

Generally, team building activities are fun and exciting. However, if you set up clear expectations beforehand, then members may get more out of the event than a little relaxation. Thus, consider sharing some slides about the overall goals of building strong teams.

• Reiterate company missions, goals, and culture statements.
• Brainstorm what skills your team could improve on.
• Discuss how games and exercises foster different skills.
• Outline how chosen events can improve said skills.

Ultimately, team building is a great way to get to know colleagues better. However, depending on your chosen exercises, these sessions can develop techniques that staff can apply to the workplace.

Here is some more information on the goals of team building .

4. Importance of team building

Some organizations may be new to team building, so it may be helpful to share why it is important to integrate it into your routine.

• Helps coworkers bond
• Teaches soft skills like communication and problem-solving
• Prevents stress and burnout
• Acts as a reward after team successes
• Promotes workplace diversity and understanding
• Demonstrates team’s strengths and weaknesses
• Fosters innovation and employee engagement
• Increases overall productivity

Team building is one of the most essential aspects of leading a successful organization, and sharing this with your staff may encourage participation.

Read more about the importance of team building .

5. How to build strong teams

Building strong teams does not end after the hiring phase. While selecting the right candidates for the job is important, continuing the professional development process after hiring is equally essential. Sharing information with your leaders on building strong teams can help improve the organization at its core.

• Diversifying your talent pool
• Encouraging open communication
• Offering professional development opportunities
• Fostering a caring and collaborative environment
• Cultivating soft skills

Hiring smart employees is a great foundation for a strong team. However, maintaining and improving that strength is where true success lies.

Learn more about how to build a strong team .

6. The power of teamwork

Colleagues will all be familiar with the adage that teamwork makes the dream work. However, knowing motivational phrases and putting them into practice is different. Thus, sharing why teamwork is essential to success is a great idea.

• Increases productivity and efficiency
• Encourages innovation and creativity
• Leads to improved work-life balance

Understanding the importance of teamwork can create excitement about team building and group projects. This excitement can lead to improved efficacy and culture.

To learn more about the power of teamwork, check out these articles on the benefits of team building activities and teamwork books .

7. Team building topics

Team building can cover a wide range of subjects, making it a versatile tool that can fit any team’s size and needs. When discussing team building topics, you can get a read on your staff and see what aspects interest them the most. Thus, you can find new ways to build your team that they will find engaging.

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Training courses
• Games, icebreakers, and activities
• Comedy and storytelling
• Communication skills
• Company culture
• Giving and receiving feedback

Team building can take many forms, so presenting several subjects can help you narrow down the best avenues for your staff.

For more team building topic ideas, check out these lists of team building trends and team building examples .

8. Five-minute team building activities

Some folks think team building is a huge time commitment, but even hosting five-minute activities before a meeting is a huge step. Gathering several ideas into a presentation is a great way to have team building ideas prepared at any time. Plus, you can find out what interests your team most.

• Icebreaker questions
• Employee-guided pep talks
• Five-minute trivia
• Show-and-tell
• Meditation or yoga

Many five-minute team building exercises require little to no preparation, making these a great addition to any workday.

To learn more about quick team building activities, check out these articles on one minute games , minute to win it games , and 5 minute team building activities .

9. Team building skills

Team building activities can foster a whole host of skills, which is one of the factors that makes them so valuable. If folks regularly participate in these exercises, then their knowledge will improve.

• Written and verbal communication
• Active listening
• Adaptability and resilience
• Time management
• Conflict management
• Organization and planning

Soft skills are just as important to a worker’s success as hard skills, and team building is a great way to boost these techniques.

Here are some more team building skills .

10. Team building activities

Companies can choose from a whole host of team building activities, from minute to win it games to week-long retreats. Presenting some of these ideas will help leaders gain an understanding of their team’s interests in smaller and larger events.

• Meal ideas, like lunch and learns, potlucks, and barbecues
• Mindfulness activities, like yoga, meditation, and nature walks
• Crafty activities, like pottery, painting, and office decorations
• Party planning, like holiday celebrations, birthday parties, and retirement parties
• Games, like video game tournaments, puzzles, and cup stacking
• Recurring activities, like book clubs, movie nights, and happy hours
• Longer events, like conferences, workshops, and retreats

No matter which activity you choose, your team will appreciate the opportunity to relax, learn, and connect.

Check out these articles on office team building activities , unusual team building activities , and leadership games and activities .

11. Team building workshop

Team building workshops are a great way to facilitate learning. Even within the category of workshops, there are several categories you can choose from depending on your needs. Alternatively, you can craft your own course and present it through PowerPoint.

• Types of team building workshops
• Benefits of attending workshops
• Workshop goals
• Team building activities and games

Educational courses are an essential part of professional development. Team building workshops range from relaxed fun to serious skill building, so you can find a workshop for any occasion. As a bonus, many premade courses come with a certificate of completion, bolstering your team’s qualifications.

To find the perfect team building workshop, check out this list of team building training courses and workshops .

12. How to be a team player

The ultimate foundation of team building is creating a group of effective team players. Presenting staff with information on collaborating will improve communication and productivity.

• Proactively helping when needs arise
• Willingness to step in
• Communicating clearly
• Working well with others
• Leading a team or project
• Self-awareness and taking feedback

Overall, team players are the backbone of successful enterprises, so educating your workforce on these techniques is crucial.

Check out more information on good team player characteristics .

Presenting a PowerPoint about team building can help facilitate the conversation about why team building is important, how to do it, and what you can learn from it. These team building presentations can act as a first step to introduce the concept of team building to your staff, or they can be a continuing education on activities you already do. No matter why you present about building teams, these ideas should help you foster a strong workforce.

Next up, check out our lists of lunch and learn topics , TED talks for team building , and annual company meeting ideas .

Book wildly fun team building events with expert hosts

FAQ: Team building PowerPoint presentations

Here are answers to common questions about team building PowerPoint presentations.

What are team building PowerPoint presentations?

Team building PowerPoint presentations are speeches that leadership can give to staff members about elements of team building.

Why should you use team building PowerPoint presentations?

Using team building PowerPoint presentations is beneficial because it can introduce your team to the concept of team building, share its benefits, and help you learn what your team may be interested in.

What are some good team building PowerPoint presentation topics?

Some of the best team building PowerPoint presentation topics include the importance of team building, the power of teamwork, and how to be a team player.

Author: Grace He

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com. Grace is the Director of People & Culture at teambuilding.com. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

Leave a Reply Cancel

Your email address will not be published.

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.

Grace is the Director of People & Culture at teambuilding.com. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

• 45,000+ clients including Apple, Amazon, Google and NASA
• 50,225+ five star reviews on Google
• #15 on Inc 5000's List of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America for 2022
• 80+ happy remote employees

We lead wildly fun experiences for teams with 1,000,000+ players to date.

4.96 / 5.0 rating on

50,225 Google Reviews

Get our free team building tool box

$49 value at no cost..

• May as well check it out?
• 100+ tested icebreaker questions
• 24+ themed Bingo generators
• 5+ PDFs (including the 8% Rule)
• 2024 team building calendar and more...

Enter your email for instant access

• English (US)
• Client Login
• Become a Partner

35 Workplace safety topics for meetings

Workplace safety is a critical aspect of any organization, ensuring the well-being of employees and the smooth operation of daily activities. Regular safety meetings and tabletop exercises are essential for reinforcing safety protocols and keeping everyone informed about the latest guidelines and best practices. Here are 35 comprehensive workplace safety topics for meetings, designed to enhance your team’s knowledge and commitment to safety. 

How to make your safety talks more engaging

Ensuring that workplace safety talks are interactive and relevant with day-to-day examples will make them engaging and effective. Some of the most memorable safety talks are short, focused, and relevant so that workers can easily apply the advice immediately and recall it in the long term. 

Interactive approach

Move beyond monologues. Encourage participation through quizzes, case studies, or role-playing. Engage employees by asking questions and involving them in discussions. Make sure no one is left out and reward engagement (for example, snacks and gift cards). 

Real-life examples

Share relatable stories or past incidents within your organization. Personal anecdotes resonate with employees and make safety concepts more tangible. Ask employees to share their experiences within the organization or previous roles. Discuss what safety procedures could have changed these outcomes.

Visual Aids

Use infographics, videos, or images to illustrate safety points. Visual content captures attention and enhances understanding. Share these visual aids after safety talks via email and other communication channels so people can revisit them to keep the knowledge fresh.

Change the format of safety talks. Sometimes, a short video works better than a lengthy presentation. Mix it up to maintain interest.  Survey employees to ask them what their preferred formats are, and what could be done to make your workplace safety talks more engaging.

35 Workplace safety topics  

Here are a variety of safety topics you can use to keep safety at the forefront of everyday operations. Remember to tailor your safety talks to the specific work objectives and conditions that are most relevant to your employees.

Health Hazards

1. Chemical safety and hazards 

Discuss proper handling, storage, and disposal of chemicals. Emphasize the importance of using appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and understanding Safety Data Sheets (SDS). 

2. Carbon monoxide 

Educate employees on the dangers of carbon monoxide, symptoms of exposure, and preventive measures. 

3. Heat stress 

Discuss the risks of heat stress, including symptoms and prevention strategies such as hydration and acclimatization. 

4. Cold stress 

Discuss the risks associated with cold stress and how to mitigate them, including proper clothing and work/rest cycles. 

5. Fatigue 

Highlight the dangers of fatigue and its impact on safety. Discuss ways to manage fatigue through adequate rest, hydration, and workload management. 

6. Noise and hearing loss prevention 

Review noise control measures, such as PPE and engineering controls, to prevent hearing loss. 

7. Respiratory protection and infection 

Cover the proper use of respiratory protection to prevent inhalation of harmful substances and reduce the spread of infections. 

8. Burn prevention and treatment 

Discuss ways to prevent burns in the workplace and how to provide immediate treatment if burns occur. 

Physical Safety

9. Emergency exits 

Ensure everyone knows the location of emergency exits and understands the importance of keeping them unobstructed. 

10. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)  

Discuss the types of PPE required for different tasks and ensure employees know how to use them correctly. 

11. Electrical safety 

Review electrical safety practices, including proper equipment use and what to do in an electrical emergency. 

12. Machine safety 

Ensure all machinery is used safely by discussing operating procedures, regular maintenance, and the importance of safety guards. 

13. Vehicle safety 

For employees who drive as part of their job, discuss safe driving practices, including severe weather driving and vehicle maintenance. 

14. Confined spaces 

Discuss entry procedures, monitoring, and rescue plans for working in confined spaces. 

15. Ladder safety 

Discuss safe ladder practices, including proper setup, use, and storage. 

16. Slip, trips, and falls prevention  

Review housekeeping practices, proper footwear, and hazard identification to prevent slips, trips, and falls. 

17. Ergonomics 

Promote ergonomic practices to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. Discuss the importance of proper posture, equipment positioning, and taking breaks to reduce strain. 

Environmental Safety

18. Emergency preparedness and response  

Outline the procedures for various emergencies, including evacuation routes, assembly points, and communication plans . 

19. Hurricane and tornado protocol and response  

Review the specific protocols for severe weather events, including shelter-in-place procedures and emergency kits. 

20. Storm and flood response 

Prepare for natural disasters by discussing response plans, emergency kits, and communication strategies. 

21. Fire response  

Review fire prevention measures, the use of fire extinguishers, and evacuation procedures. 

22. Wildfire response  

For areas prone to wildfires, discuss evacuation plans, air quality monitoring, and personal safety measures. 

23. Winter weather 

Prepare for winter weather by discussing safe practices for snow and ice removal, proper clothing, and driving in winter conditions. 

24. Waste management and recycling 

Discuss proper disposal and recycling methods to maintain a safe and clean work environment. 

25. Ventilation 

Ensure proper ventilation to reduce the risk of respiratory issues and improve overall air quality. 

Physical Wellbeing

26. Physical wellbeing 

Promote healthy practices, including proper lifting techniques, stretching exercises, and maintaining physical fitness. 

27. Mental health 

Address the importance of mental health in the workplace. Discuss stress management techniques, available resources, and creating a supportive environment. 

28. Stress management 

Discuss techniques for managing stress, including time management, relaxation techniques, and available support resources. 

29. Substance abuse 

Address the impact of substance abuse on workplace safety and the importance of a drug-free environment. 

30. Medical and first aid  

Review basic first aid procedures and ensure employees know the location of first aid kits and how to use them.

31. Hand hygiene and protection 

Emphasize the importance of hand hygiene to prevent the spread of illness and discuss the proper use of hand protection for various tasks. 

Workplace culture and Compliance

32. Workplace violence 

Implement strategies to prevent workplace violence . Discuss warning signs, reporting procedures, and ways to de-escalate situations.

33. Active assailant  

Prepare employees for the unthinkable with active assailant drills . Discuss run, hide, fight strategies and emergency communication plans.

34. Bullying and harassment 

Address bullying and harassment in the workplace by discussing company policies, reporting procedures, and creating a respectful work environment. 

35. Reporting accidents and hazards 

Encourage prompt reporting of incidents and near-misses to help identify patterns and prevent future occurrences. Explain the reporting process and the importance of transparency. 

For more workplace safety topics, check out the OSHA site . 

Creating a safer workplace

Workplace safety is an ongoing process that requires regular attention and continuous improvement. By addressing relevant topics in your safety meetings, you can create a safer workplace environment and ensure that all employees are informed and prepared to handle various safety concerns.

When employees actively participate in discussions, share experiences, and learn from one another, they collectively foster a safety-first mindset. A strong safety culture leads to fewer accidents and better overall well-being.

To further enhance your workplace safety measures, join us for our next customer webinar on workplace safety, where we will be joined by industry experts, as they outline strategies to safeguard your organization and employees from modern-day risks.  

Related resources

Everbridge suite basic message sender training for incidents

Please join the Customer Success Team, who will review the process to send an Incident from Everbridge.

Everbridge suite basic message sender training for notifications

Please join the Customer Success Team, who will review the basic process to send a Notification from Everbridge.

Office hours with Customer Success – The universe

Office Hours helps Users understand best practices and receive valuable tips to be successful with your Everbridge solution. Our topic for this session is: The Universe.

See us in action

Request a demo or just call us at 888-366-4911

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

17 Team-Building Activities for In-Person, Remote, and Hybrid Teams

• Rebecca Knight

Employees with strong relationships at work are more creative, collaborative, and likely to stay with their organization.

Managers sometimes turn to team-building activities to build connections between colleagues. But which activities and practices would work best for your team? And how can you put them into action most effectively? In this article, the author offers advice and recommendations from three experts. Their activity suggestions are intended to inspire ideas that you can then tailor to your team’s size, sensibilities, and circumstances. These activities don’t need to be extravagant or overly structured — what matters is being intentional about making team building happen. Stay attentive to your team members’ needs, involve colleagues in planning, and show sincere interest in getting to know them. By doing so, you’ll help build a positive, inclusive team culture that tackles loneliness and helps everyone succeed together.

In the era of remote work and scattered teams, managers face a key challenge: fostering connections among employees, no matter where they happen to be located.

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

Partner Center