Skip “fun facts” and try contextual icebreakers that relate to your meeting. If they are relevant and quick, you’ll get connections without the awkwardness.
Rotate the facilitator and other meeting roles regularly. It keeps meetings fresh, builds confidence, and turns attendees into co-owners.
Start with async communication — only hold a meeting if real-time collaboration is the best (or only) way to move forward.
End every meeting with the “3 Rs”: Review decisions, Record owners, Reconfirm next steps. It takes five minutes and prevents hours of follow-up chaos.
Break your meeting into attention sprints. Every 7–10 minutes, switch gears by changing speaker, invite reactions, use a poll, etc. This helps reset attention.