A ridiculously easy way to improve your team meetings

Psychologists and professional trainers tell us that we should give audiences a five-minute break every 60–75 minutes. Psychologists know this from research; trainers know this from experience. They know that after a break, people’s attention spans are restored and the distractions of needing to go the bathroom or needing some water, caffeine, or nicotine have been addressed. I can validate all this from my own experience, having given hundreds of presentations over the years.

Recently, I was leading our quarterly planning meeting at IBEX Payroll. I noticed a few people going the bathroom at about 90 minutes in, then I had to go myself at two hours in. As I left the room, I glanced at my watch and realized how long we had been going at it. It was well past the recommended time for keeping people’s attention. I would never do this to an external group I was speaking to, so why would I do this to my own team? I called for a 10-minute break. At least one-third of the team went straight to the washroom, others rushed to deal with small issues or get a cup of coffee. When we returned, I called for a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to get the blood flowing before we sat down again. It was a different group. Where energy had been waning and people starting to tune out, we were all focused and much more energetic.

I have repeated many times what author and trainer Linton Sellen has taught me about the role of a leader – that is to promote the performance and well-being of the people we lead. Giving your team appropriate breaks during meetings is one very simple way to demonstrate that you care about their well-being and an easy way to enhance the quality of your meetings.

P.S. If your meetings are too short to include a break, you can still use an icebreaker right at the beginning – preferably one that gets people moving and laughing. Here is a blog we wrote listing some of our favourites:

Five ice breakers to jump start any meeting

Enjoyed this week’s blog?
Subscribe to the IBEX Payroll Leadership Blog for great tips and insight right in your inbox! We publish new leadership and employee engagement content every week !!

IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant.

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today.

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.