The Meeting Spicer (EN)

Where it started…

The Meeting Spicer was born out of frustration, the frustration of meetings that often feel ineffective, useless, and even worse, demotivating. Meetings that accumulatively contribute to a corporate culture that demotivates employees and discourages initiatives. We created the Meeting Spicer to change that.

What it is

The Meeting Spicer is a set of over a hundred Micro-Activities addressing the use of time, purpose, team dynamics, preparation, and more. It is designed to help the team try different practices and discover the ones that are suitable for the team needs, making meetings more productive and building a team in the process.

How it works

All it takes is 60 seconds.
At the beginning of a meeting, the team picks a random Start-Card, that contains a question (such as “what time is it?”) or a small activity (such as “assign a timekeeper”), these activities are designed to take no more than 30 seconds, as to not disrupt the meeting’s agenda.

Similarly, at the end of the meeting, a random End-Card is chosen – to anchor the meeting’s learning and help check-out.
The Meeting Spicer also contains Role-Cards and Time-Cards, allowing assign roles (such as Meeting-Host, Scribe, Time-Keeper, etc.) and keeping time of the meeting progress in a fun way.

Why it works

You might have read great articles describing how to improve meetings, but the real secret to creating a habit that sticks is to practice.
The Meeting Spicer helps you do just that! Over the past three years, we have carefully selected a set of over a hundred micro-exercises, helping you practice different aspects of your meeting-dynamics.
In addition to the cards, you will also receive a set of good practices that will help you ‘sell’ the Meeting Spicer to your team, tips on how to introduce it, and get a team buy-in – allowing the team to take full ownership of their meetings.

Reminder

– Meeting Spicer is not a game: it is a tool, your tool.
– Do not overlearn; Walk slow, Progress fast
– Avoid judgment; Make the team own the tool
– Treat the Spicer like a magic-trick

Creator & contributions

• Creator : Dov Tsal
• Co-designer : Régis Schneider
• Logo : Lena Fisher
• EN version : Dov Tsal
• Review: Paula Cassin
• Contributions and inspiration : Ralph van Rosmalen, Pondd Suwitcha Sugthana, Lisette Sutherland, Jurgen Appelo, Krungthai AXA
• Website : http://www.MeetingSpicer.com

Testimonials

• Podcast 214 – Spice Up Your Meetings And Hack Your Culture With Meeting Spicer

Chez #Orange on offre des jeux @MeetingSpicer aux équipes. Une bonne idée pour améliorer la qualité des réunions. pic.twitter.com/kuaME8IV4R

— Arnaud Gonzales (@arnaud_Gonzales) September 25, 2019

The #MeetingSpicer card set is full of good ideas and very nicely designed. I like the idea of micro-learning. I’d say it’s micro-nudging, influencing (meeting) culture one tiny step at a time. https://t.co/my7ytXJicQ pic.twitter.com/NwYOBFt0Au

— st0rz (@st0rz) December 24, 2018