17 Interactive Meeting Ideas & Activities: #1 List in 2023

Here is our list of the best interactive meeting ideas and activities.

Interactive meeting ideas and activities are events where employees collaborate and exchange ideas with their colleagues. Examples include World Café, Professional Workshops, and Support Sessions. The purpose of these activities is to encourage group discussion, promote camaraderie, and enhance communication. By utilizing these ideas, employees can work in a collaborative and interactive environment.

Interactive meeting ideas are similar to Zoom meeting ideas and ideas on making virtual meetings fun. You can use these meeting ideas for your sales meeting tips or online morning meeting ideas.

This list includes:

• interactive meeting ideas for large groups
• interactive meeting ideas for small groups
• interesting topics to discuss in team meetings
• interactive staff meeting ideas
• interactive meeting games
• interactive meeting activities

Here we go!

List of interactive meeting ideas and activities

From Throw the Ball to Professional Workshops, here is a list of some interactive ways to run your next meeting.

1. World Café

World Café is a great team building game for large groups in which employees will learn to interact and collaborate with their coworkers.

Here is how to host the game:

1. Divide the large group into teams of five.
2. Make all teams sit at separate café-style tables.
3. The teams will discuss a topic from the meeting.
4. All members will get together for a brainstorming session and make notes for three minutes.
5. You will then ask one member from each table to go to another team.
6. All teams will resume their discussion for the next three minutes.

The purpose of this activity is to encourage employees to interact and collaborate. As you ask one member to leave their team in the middle of the meeting and join another team, the flow of discussion will disrupt, and all teams will have to work with a new member. In the end, you can also ask all teams to give feedback regarding the difficulty of having a new team member and how they addressed the change.

This activity teaches employees how to work with new folks in the workplace.

2. Throw The Ball

Throw The Ball is a fun office meeting game that gets employees moving. This physical activity is an exciting way to come up with interesting topics to discuss in team meetings.

Here is how to play the game:

1. Have participants stand in a circle.
2. Come up with a topic to brainstorm.
3. Give one player a rubber ball.
4. That player will randomly throw the ball to another player in the circle.
5. The player who catches the ball will share their idea for brainstorming.
6. Once all members have shared their ideas, the group will sit together and discuss them.

Players can make this game fun by quickly throwing the ball from one player to another so members cannot actually guess when the ball is coming to them.

3. Professional Workshops

Professional workshops focus on improving skills and developing competency. Thus, encouraging participation is essential in developing your team’s skills. Because so many guests can attend these meetings, professional workshops are among the top interactive meeting ideas for large groups.

You can choose any topic for your workshop, some of which are:

• Time management
• Mental health
• Financial literacy
• Soft skills
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Sharing information on such topics can help employees develop skills necessary for growth. You can call a professional to host the workshop for you. The session will consist of providing information and then providing topics to brainstorm.

You can also divide members into groups and ask them to come up with solutions to problems, most of which can also include the issues discussed in the meeting.

4. Office Debates

Office Debates are a great activity to incorporate into meetings, as they build confidence and allow employees to share their views.

Here is how to host the activity:

1. Choose one argumentative topic. This subject can be the one you discussed in the meeting.
2. Ask half the employees to speak in favor of the topic while the other half will go against it.
3. Another idea is to choose several subjects, write them on pieces of paper, and shuffle them. Then, the participant that picks a paper will debate on that topic.
4. Each individual will get two minutes to debate.
5. After the speech, audience members will ask questions and raise their concerns.

Such debates can be productive sessions because they welcome constructive criticism and allow attendees to think beyond their own perspectives.

5. Buddy Up

Buddy Up is an interactive activity for small groups where members brainstorm ideas after the meeting. This activity is suitable for sessions in which the hosts provide a note to each employee about further tasks they need to complete.

To host this activity:

1. Pair up attendees after the meeting.
2. Provide each team with a problem to solve. This problem will relate to future steps participants must take on a project or tasks they must complete.
3. Give teams 30 minutes to brainstorm as many ideas as possible to address their assigned issue.
4. Once time is up, pairs can schedule a follow-up meeting to choose the right solution.

Based on members’ knowledge gained from the meeting, the pairs will work together on the tasks.

6. Support Sessions

Support Sessions are great interactive meeting ideas for small groups. Employees come together to discuss concerning topics, share ideas, and provide solutions to their coworkers.

Companies can host a support session at the end of the meeting. In the activity, all employees will sit together. Then, folks who had problems understanding a topic or faced difficulty grasping a fact will share those feelings. Other employees who understood the discussion will help them solve their issues and provide detailed information.

In these sessions, all employees should get to ask questions and help others understand new topics. As the office environment has workers with different skills and knowledge, they can help others in areas they lag behind.

Such sessions promote a collaborative work environment where employees help and support their coworkers.

7. Office Trivia

Office trivia is among the best staff meeting ideas.

Here is how to host this activity:

1. Before the meeting, ask all members to take detailed notes.
2. Have your meeting discussion.
3. After the meeting, divide attendees into two teams.
4. Ask trivia questions about the meeting topics.
5. The team that answers the most questions correctly wins.

This activity will allow you to develop engaging discussion topics in team meetings. Also, employees will understand that focusing is necessary, as they will have to answer questions later.

8. Meet and Greet

A Meet and greet session is a fun way to strengthen employee relationships and encourage them to communicate. This idea is great for large meetings in which employees from different departments will participate.

In the session, you can randomly make groups or pairs of employees by writing names on pieces of paper and picking them from the box. Then, the employees will sit together to learn a few things about each other.

Later, you can ask these coworkers to sit with their partners throughout the meeting, brainstorm ideas, and participate in discussions through mutual collaboration.

This session will develop friendly relationships among folks and encourage them to work in groups while welcoming new ideas and brainstorming on problems.

9. Complete The Drawing

Complete The Drawing is a fun game that will help your employees unveil their drawing skills. You can play this game during meeting breaks.

Here is how to organize the activity:

1. Make pairs within the group.
2. Give each member paper and drawing tools.
3. The participants will draw anything on their own without telling their partners. For example, a starry night, mountains, or the beach. The goal is to be as creative as possible.
4. After ten minutes, when the participants have completed half the drawing, they will switch their drawing with their partners.
5. While understanding the drawing, the partners will complete the drawing with their own ideas.

At the end of the game, the members will discuss what they understood from each picture and share their views.

10. Guess Who Wrote It?

Guess Who Wrote It? is among the best interactive staff meeting ideas.

Here is how to play:

1. Have players sit in a circle.
2. Ask members to solve a small problem discussed in the meeting.
3. All participants will write the answer on paper, fold it, and put it in a bottle.
4. The members will spin the bottle on the table, and whoever the bottle stops on will take a random piece of paper from the bottle.
5. Then, the participant will guess who wrote the answer.

As players guess, they will learn more about their colleagues. Plus, you may end up solving an office issue along the way!

11. Q&A Session

Hosting a Q&A session in the meeting is necessary to welcome new and creative ideas and get feedback for better performance.

Q&A sessions are essential to any meeting, regardless of length and topic. In these sessions, attendees are free to address any queries or concerns related to the topic. The host can also ask questions from the attendees during the session and ask them to come up with solutions by brainstorming in groups. This approach will encourage active participation, and employees will develop confidence.

Another idea is to break the meeting into several topics. Then, when the host finishes one topic, they have the groups ask questions. In this way, employees who need clarification or want to give ideas will feel at ease.

12. Meeting Topic Scavenger Hunt

You can tailor the traditional scavenger hunt to make it appropriate for running the meeting, while the game will act as a team building exercise.

Here is how to host the activity:

1. Make a list of topics and problems you will discuss in the meeting beforehand.
2. Write questions, and leave a section to fill in the blanks.
3. Before the meeting, provide these papers to all groups. You can also incorporate problem-solving puzzles that relate to the meeting topics.
4. During the meeting, groups will listen to the host carefully. Then, attendees will fill in the blanks and answer questions as they find answers through discussion in the meeting.
5. After the meeting, all teams will present their solutions.

This form of a scavenger hunt will make the meeting interactive, and employees will participate and focus on solving puzzles as they move through different topics.

13. Fitness Session

Hosting a fitness session can boost employees’ morale and make them active before the meeting.

To host this activity:

1. Have teammates bring or wear fitness clothes to the office.
2. Find a large enough space for the whole team to work out.
3. Ask a fitness expert or yoga instructor to teach employees how to perform different exercises.
4. Play music during the session to keep the energy high.
5. Afterward, be sure to stretch gently to unwind from the activity.

Exercising before or during the meeting will help members focus and stay on track. Such workouts will also build a sense of trust among employees as they do tough tasks together.

14. Board Game Tournament

Holding a board game tournament is a great idea to test employees’ skills beyond work. Such games work well for small groups, and they can play these games in breaks during meetings.

Some examples of board games are:

• Ludo
• Carrom Board
• Chess
• Monopoly

Two participants can play at a time while others spectate, or players can spread out and try multiple games at once.

Board games can be a great way to boost employees’ confidence and enhance their problem-solving skills. As participants play, they develop competitive and professional skills.

15. Potluck Lunch

Having food together promotes camaraderie and allows employees to communicate. Therefore, hosting a potluck lunch is among the best interactive staff meeting ideas.

Here is how to host the activity:

1. Conduct a survey asking each employee to mention the dish they will bring.
2. Make arrangements for the utensils.
3. Ask all employees to put their dishes on the table.
4. Ask employees to share their reason for choosing their specific meals and why they like them.
5. Eat together and enjoy!

You can host the potluck lunch during meeting breaks. However, as larger teams require more time to eat together, you might need to extend the time for the lunch break.

A potluck lunch brings employees together and ensures team building. Eating food together after a meeting also makes a good end to a long day.

16. Do Good

Do Good is an activity in which employees will do tasks and perform roles for the betterment of their society. For this activity, you can create teams and ask each group to perform the same duty.

Here are some examples of tasks:

• Distribute food at a shelter
• Visit a nursing home
• Run a volunteer drive
• Have a donation drive

All employees will work together to do something good for society and help the community. You can also make the activity more interesting by asking each team to decide on a task for themselves. All teams will either visit locations to help those in need or collect donations. However, all teams will have a specific goal to reach, such as collecting a targeted amount of money for the cause. Also, ask members to take pictures of their volunteer work and share their stories in the meeting later.

This activity will encourage a friendly and humble attitude among employees and allow them to help the community while building bonds with fellows.

17. Pomodoro Timer

Pomodoro Timer is among the best interactive meeting activities because it helps keep the meeting at a set pace so employees can participate with full concentration.

The Pomodoro Technique is essential for ensuring a relaxed and productive environment. In this technique, you set a timer for discussing a specific topic, then enjoy a set break.

Here is how to host the activity with the Pomodoro Timer:

1. Use a tool, and add the tasks of the meeting to it. Pomofocus is a great example.
2. Set Pomodoros, or time limits, for each task. The standard time limit is 25 minutes for each task.
3. You can set multiple Pomodoros for discussing more than one topic.
4. When the meeting starts, select a task or topic to discuss.
5. The timer will remind you when the time is over.
6. Then, the teams will have a break of five minutes to brainstorm or do an activity.

Using a Pomodoro Timer is a great idea to keep employees focused. As employees get bored, they can look at the timer to see how much time remains for the discussion. Also, breaking the meeting into parts and hosting breaks is a great way to allow employees to relax their minds.

Learn more about Pomofocus.

Conclusion

Incorporating games and activities into office meetings is a great idea to ensure an interactive and collaborative work environment. Participating in activities helps folks retain their focus, build camaraderie, and learn more about their coworkers.

Our list of interactive meeting games for small and large groups will help you maintain a cooperative and friendly environment during your staff meetings. These games also take you out of the traditional routine of boring meetings and keep members engaged and happy throughout the session.

For more info on meetings, check out these articles on the best platforms for team meetings and top remote meeting tips.