Mindfulness in Meetings
/
Let’s talk about Mindfulness and Meetings, shall we?
The application of mindfulness in meetings appears to be one of the hot topics in our current environment, but what does mindfulness related to meetings actually mean and how can we all get onboard with this inspiring concept?
Let’s discuss meetings.
By show of hands, how many of us enjoy, appreciate, and/or value meetings, specifically several meetings a day, and/or week? Anyone? Any hands up in the air?
Our world has become riddled with meetings all tied to our electronic calendars on a daily or weekly basis. One thing that seems to be consistently agreed upon is that meetings can be a waste of time, are exhausting and create anxiety for the tasks going undone while attending these meetings. Our minds drift elsewhere while banter is happening among colleagues or when presentations are lasting longer than anticipated.
In turn, this creates anxiety to end the meeting, to get to other tasks etc and who needs any more anxiety and stress in our life? Noone.
But let’s face it, some meetings are vitally important. Face to face interaction cannot be replicated and meetings aren’t going anywhere. For the sake of our livelihood, that’s a good thing!
That said, let’s address mindfulness.
By definition, Mindfulness is
1. : the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
2.a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and emotions, used as a therapeutic technique.
Take a moment to ponder the idea of launching your next sales conference in a room filled with only the sounds of calm and quiet, or perhaps some soft spa music to create serenity. Better yet, imagine an individual guiding us to shift our thoughts to the present moment, to all things positive, and to visualize a team working in cohesion. Ah ha! We might be onto something.
Most people spend their day rushing from one meeting to the next, so taking a few moments to incorporate a 15 minute meditation or breathing session may enable participants to shift thinking, reduce stress and ready them to focus on the present moment and to achieve objectives at hand. In turn, more dynamic conversations, more engaging content, and a more productive meeting may result from this short exercise to eliminate external “noise”
This, my fellow friends and colleagues, is part of a new era of thinking to help us better engage as planners, group attendees, and even hotel partners. Endless time is invested into thoughtful programming content, yet, how about considering a little “reset” for your next program by adding a cause for pause. Because, don’t we all desire a moment to exhale, be still, breath and regroup in our day to day lives?
There are many resources available to incorporate mindfulness into your meetings! Reach out to your Site Selection Services team for some inspiring ideas on how to add this concept to your next program. Your attendees will show gratitude, that’s a promise.
