Not one of us has escaped those meetings where one person drones on and the human brain drops out! Yet most people admit that any successful business will meet to move the firm’s agenda forward together.

So what are the alternatives to the meeting where a few dominate and others daydream?

1. Choose the best facilitator to chair the meeting. You’ll recognize master facilitators by the way they engage all voices and by the way  people in their circles speak up and feel heard.

2. Invite pair share activities to answer questions ahead of whole group discussions so that more reluctant speakers will gain insights in a smaller setting and then feel ready to jump into large group discussions with more confidence.

3. Ask two footed questions and then invite groups of 4 to present their findings, as a group to the larger gathering.

4. Break a proposal into bite sized pieces and invite volunteers to come prepared to speak for 2 minutes on their recommendations. Stop the speaker after 2 minutes and engage others’ ideas on the recommendations.

5. Reward winning implementation plans. Jot key ideas on whiteboard for each topic – and ask for each department to come up with and implementation plan. Then select the group that proposes  the best plan to guide the firm’s follow through and evaluation of that plan. Offer a reward to the group that comes up with any implemented plan.

These are just a few practical ways to unleash more talent in your next meeting.  Prevent boredom that comes from meetings that drift into droning and mental doldrums … and you’ll also build dendrite brain cells for your firm’s next great venture. Have you seen it happen?