10 Things to Make your Meetings Exciting

The boss walks in your office and casually asks you to increase sales by 20% and he has given you three days to complete the task. You are a little surprised by the request but you gladly accept the assignment. Before he leaves your office he asks you to cut the cost of doing business by 30%. He has kindly given you five days to complete the task. Some may be horrified by the assignments but you smile and tell your boss you will give it your best effort. Later in the day, he walks back in your office and says something that's frightening. You begin to sweat. He has asked you to do something that's almost impossible. He has asked you to make the next company meeting exciting. He can hear you gasping. You want to scream 'Please give this assignment to someone else. You want to shout That's an out of this world task. You calm down, find some courage and boldly take the assignment. You can't think small. Handing out hats won't be sufficient. Telling a cute story won't be enough. Here are 10 things you can do to keep a meeting exciting:

1.  Announce to the group that during the meeting you will be mentioning three things that are not true. Inform the attendees the untrue remarks might be personal or about business. The people who come up with the three incorrect comments partake in a raffle and the winner receives a free dinner for two at a posh restaurant or perhaps they get Friday off with pay. People will be intently listening and it will add some fun to the meeting.

2.  Have the CEO of the company enter the meeting and gladly refill coffee cups and water glasses. Perhaps he's wearing a tuxedo. He offers people a pillow for their chairs. The CEO provides tasty snack to the attendees. He passes out teddy bears to everyone. The CEO enters the meeting several times and doesn't say a word. This will create anticipation and smiles. 

3.  Hire a temporary employee to bring in numerous boxes, one at a time and stack them in a corner. If someone gets curious and asks you whats in the boxes tell him you can't talk about it until the meeting is over. Have the temporary employee shake his head as he leaves the room and ask you Are you sure you want these boxes in here? Contemplate for a little bit and say I think so. For added excitement have an alarm go off in one of the boxes. Get up, grab the alarm clock and without people noticing, set it ring in 10 minutes. Repeat the process several times. At the end of the meeting open the boxes and pull out some tasty snacks or gift certificates for the attendees.

4.  Have an employee occasionally enter the meeting room and ask you . Have you told them yet? Answer .No I have not. This will make the employees curious and alert. Each time he walks in the room he wears a different color tie. At the end of the meeting ask the employees to write down the colors of ties he wore. The people who correctly write down the colors of ties win a prize. 

 5.  Throughout the meeting ask everyone to perform an outrageous task that must be completed by the next meeting. For example, ask the manager of the advertising department to obtain free advertising for the company on national television. If they respond in disbelief simply say . You heard me. Everyone will wonder what outrageous assignment will be tossed their way during the meeting and the anticipation will add some excitement to the meeting. 

6.  Hire a comedian to sit in the meeting and take notes. Frequently ask him to repeat comments that the attendees have made. Have him intentionally misquote them. The incorrect quotes cause the attendees to seem arrogant, rude, silly, selfish etc. For example, My intelligence is simply astonishing. Have the comedian misquote a response a timid employee made to one of your comments, Boss, that's outrageous and I simply won't allow it. Smile and the group will laugh.

7.  Hire a singer to attend the meeting. Inform the group the new employee was highly recommended by an employment agency and will be a great asset to the company. Whenever you ask him questions he responds by singing answers in different music styles; perhaps with a country music slant or hip hop. Simply shake your head after he sings.

8.  Have an artist sit in the room and make caricature portraits of attendees of the meeting. Keeping the portraits a mystery until the end of the meeting will add some excitement. Let the employees place their portrait in their office or take it home to show their family and friends.

9.  Inform the attendees there will be a quiz on the content of the meeting. The person who has the most correct answers wins a desirable prize. The employees will be paying more attention during the meeting.

10.  Without informing the attendees of the upcoming quiz, sprinkle famous quotes from movies into the meeting. Place the quotes in awkward situations in order to make the employees curious about the use of the movie quotes. Whoever writes down the most quotes that are accompanied by the correct movie wins a prize.

 Don't just have a goal to make the meeting interesting or appealing; make the meeting exciting. The employees will appreciate your effort and it will create a wonderful rapport with the employees. Be innovative once in awhile and you will have a happier office. Even as an accountant.

How To Establish Influence.

Hey people, sorry for taking so long before posting an article. I had taken a short break to travel back upcountry to see my parents. Anyway, i am back now! On to serious business now. I found this really interesting article on how to establish influence, that i think is essential to know, even for an accountant!

Pre-Meeting Interaction
Your ability to influnece others is directly tied to what they think of you. The bottom line is this: if people like you, you will be able to change minds; if people do not like you, you will not be able to influence them. What are some ways to get people to like you?

• Don't complain about anything or criticize anyone. The easiest way to help people get comfortable with you is to have a pleasant attitude and only speak well of the people you know.
• Verbally recognize other people's contributions. Simply praising someone's accomplishments and/or effort without seeking anything in return makes people feel good.
• Show a genuine interest in other people's lives. Nearly everyone's favorite topic of discussion is the topic they know most about: themselves. Ask good questions and genuinely listen to the answers others give. If you are one of the few people who actually remember things about people's lives, you cannot help but make others want to be around you more.

You earn the right to influence others by doing these three simple things. Think about the people you are seeking to influence. What is their assessment of you? You may have some work to do before you sit down with them.

Persuasion
When the time comes to make your presentation, some practices are better than others. One of the keys to influence is understanding that you will get opposition to your views. Here are a few suggestions when you meet resistance to your ideas.

• Begin the meeting with a smile and immediately seek to find common ground on the subject.
• Ask questions that get the other person talking about the situation. Listen closely to their point of view. You may be surprised at how often people talk themselves into your way of thinking when you simply listen to them.
• Verbally acknowledge the merit of the other person's ideas, even if they are contrary to yours.
• When resistance to your ideas arises, don't resort to arguing. Your chances of winning someone over to your way of thinking are diminished if you become an adversary. Even if they do follow through with your suggestions, they may not want to work with you on future projects because you had a disagreeable personality.

Take Action
Begin building rapport with people today. The work you do to develop relationships now will pay off when you seek to influence them tomorrow.

Be ready for people to turn your ideas down. Prepare yourself by focusing on the common ground and resisting the urge to argue.