Your Meeting Does Not Need More Engagement. It Needs a Better Reason to Engage

You ask a question. Nobody answers.You wait, then try again. “Feel free to put your thoughts in the chat.”A few responses appear. You thank everyone and move to the next slide.Later, when you go over the meeting, you decide you need more engagement next time. Maybe a poll. Maybe breakout rooms. Maybe a more interesting opening question.Those tools can help. But before adding another activity, I would ask a different question:

Why did people contribute?

Did they understand what you needed from them? Could they see how their experience would help? Did their answer have any chance of changing what happened next?If those things were unclear, another activity may give you more answers without making the meeting more useful.

Start with what the meeting is supposed to accomplish

In my work producing online events, I start with purpose. What should people understand, decide, or be able to do when we finish?

That question guides the design, including where and how people participate.

A meeting to make a decision needs room to examine options and surface concerns. A training session needs opportunities to try something and get feedback. A gathering intended to build relationships needs time for people to learn something meaningful about each other.

Each calls for a different kind of participation.

“We want people to be engaged” does not tell me enough to design any of them. Engaged in doing what? For what reason?

Consider a recurring staff meeting. If its purpose is to deliver updates that everyone could read beforehand, you may struggle to find a useful role for the people attending. Before asking how to make that meeting more interactive, ask what needs to take place together.

Perhaps the real value is identifying where projects overlap, resolving a delay, or deciding which work takes priority. Once that is clear, you have something worth asking people to contribute to.

Give people a question they can answer

“Any thoughts?” sounds welcoming. It also leaves a lot of work for the people hearing it.

What kind of thoughts? About which part? Are you asking for agreement, objections, ideas, or questions? How much detail do you want?

A more specific invitation helps people understand where their knowledge belongs.

Instead of asking, “What do you think of the plan?” try:

“Which part of this timeline is most likely to create a problem for your team?

”Instead of asking, “Does everyone understand?” try:

“Where would you get stuck if you had to do this tomorrow?”

Instead of asking, “Any ideas?” try:

“What is one change that would make this easier for the people we serve?”

These questions give people a starting point. They also tell you something you can use.

For nonprofit and association leaders, that matters. Your participants may bring different responsibilities, experience levels, and relationships to the work. A specific question helps them contribute from what they know, without guessing what the facilitator wants to hear.

Make the contribution matter

People notice what happens after they answer.

If you ask about their biggest challenge and then deliver the same presentation regardless of what they say, the question can begin to feel like a formality.

If you ask for feedback on a decision already made, people may wonder why you asked.

You do not have to use every suggestion. You do need to be clear about what is open for discussion and how you'll use the input.

For example:

“The launch date is set. Today, we need your help identifying what could prevent us from being ready.”Or:“We will use your responses to choose which two examples we go through.”

Or:

“We cannot resolve all of these concerns today. We will identify the three that need follow-up and assign someone to each.”

Then follow through. Change the example. Revisit the assumption. Record the concern and name the next step.

When a suggestion cannot be adopted, explain why. That gives people more confidence in the process than simply thanking them and moving on.

Give people time and a workable way to respond

Even a useful question can fall flat if people have no time to consider it.

You have been thinking about the agenda for days. They may be hearing the question for the first time.

A little preparation time can improve the conversation. Send an important decision question in advance. During the meeting, give people a minute to write before inviting responses. For a complex issue, let them compare observations with one other person before discussing it as a group.Also consider how you are asking them to contribute.Someone may have a useful observation but hesitate to interrupt. Someone else may need to think before speaking. A person joining by phone may have trouble using a shared document.Speaking, chat, written responses, and small-group discussion offer different ways in. Choose the format that fits the task and the people in the room.A breakout room, for example, needs more than a topic. Give participants a question, enough time to work on it, and a clear result to bring back. Tell them what you will do with that result.Allowing time to prepare helps people focus on the work instead of figuring out the instructions.

Be careful about what you count

Chat messages, raised hands, and poll responses are easy to see. They can give you useful information, but they do not tell the whole story.A quiet participant may be listening closely and reconsidering an assumption. A lively discussion may repeat familiar points without helping anyone decide.I would evaluate participation against the purpose of the meeting:

• Did we uncover a concern we needed to address?
• Did people get to practice the skill we were teaching?
• Did we hear from the people closest to the issue?
• Did we leave with a decision, an owner, and a next step?

You don't need everyone to speak during every segment. You do need to consider whose perspective is absent and whether the meeting gives them a reasonable occasion to contribute.Quiet alone is not evidence of disengagement. It is a reason to pay attention and find out more.

Try this before your next meeting

Choose one place in your agenda where you want participation. Complete this sentence: “I am asking people to contribute ___ so that we can ___.”For example: “I am asking people to identify one obstacle so that we can adjust the implementation plan before work begins.”Then check three things: Is the question specific? Have you given people a workable way to answer? Can you explain what will happen with their input?If you cannot finish the sentence clearly, revisit that part of the agenda before adding a poll or a breakout room.People are giving you their time and attention. A clear purpose, a useful question, and visible follow-through give them a reason to invest both.

At your next meeting, what will people help you accomplish that you could not accomplish as well without them?

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Through Calm Clear Media, I help nonprofits, membership organizations, and thoughtful leaders create purposeful events and communicate with confidence. My work includes virtual event production, emcee and announcing services, and speaking and training on confidence, connection, and virtual communication.
Whether I’m behind the scenes or at the microphone, I bring a calm presence, careful preparation, and attention to the people in the room.

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