{"id":89660,"date":"2020-10-15T11:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom\/"},"modified":"2020-10-15T11:00:17","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T08:00:17","slug":"why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why I start all my video meetings with collaborative games (spoiler: it\u2019s not boredom)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3d8a7458e69\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3d8a7458e69\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom\/#Are_we_all_here\" >Are we all here?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom\/#Kicking_things_off_with_collaboration\" >Kicking things off with collaboration\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom\/#How_games_can_make_for_better_meetings\" >How games can make for better meetings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom\/#If_you_cant_beat_%E2%80%98em_join_%E2%80%98em\" >If you can\u2019t beat \u2018em, join \u2018em<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Why I start all my video meetings with collaborative <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s (spoiler: it\u2019s not boredom)<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/video-games-meetings-gq-796x417.png\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n                                <span>My career has taken a long and winding road <\/span><span>\u2014 <\/span><span>from part of Shutterstock\u2019s early executive team, to a Senior Director serving under Secretary of State John Kerry, to moving back into the startup world while managing a remote team across eight different time zones. Suffice it to say, I have been through more meetings than I can count.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The one common thread through almost every meeting across the private and public sector <\/span><span>\u2014 <\/span><span>both physical and remote <\/span><span>\u2014 <\/span><span>is the awkwardness at the beginning of meetings while waiting for all participants to show up.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_we_all_here\"><\/span>\n<b>Are we all here?<\/b><span>\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>We\u2019ve all been through it. \u201cShe accepted the calendar invite, right?\u201d \u201cLet me ping him and see what\u2019s going on.\u201d Humans are <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> creatures, but a lot of us start to squirm when forced into prolonged periods of small talk or awkward silence. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Now add constant interruption by new meeting arrivals, each one bringing a host of new social considerations into the room. This is magnified in video conferences where limited body language and eye contact make it even harder to read cues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>[Read: You should call in sick more often \u2014 even if you\u2019re WFH]<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span>Many people solve this by being on mute and keeping their cameras off until the meeting is ready to start. Others make a point of arriving late or \u2018just in time\u2019 in order to avoid this awkwardness, which, of course, only extends the awkwardness for others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I might sound like I\u2019m overthinking this, but there\u2019s solid <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> behind this.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Kicking_things_off_with_collaboration\"><\/span><b>Kicking things off with collaboration\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rug.nl\/staff\/n.koudenburg\/koudenburgetal.2011.pdf\"><span>Research<\/span><\/a><span> suggests that it only takes four seconds of silence before people are noticeably uncomfortable, and video conferencing tools tend to accentuate silence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/faculty.wiu.edu\/P-Schlag\/articles\/Stages_of_Small_Group_Development.pdf\"><span>Tuckman and Jensen\u2019s widely cited paper<\/span><\/a><span>, both scholars suggest that groups go through five developmental stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the first developmental stage, forming is marked by strained and superficial interaction because there is a lack of organization, objectives, and group identity <\/span><span>\u2014 all problems we experience at the beginning of a meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To bypass initial silence in meetings, we need to offer collaborative tasks that can ease the group into a unit without putting the onus on awkward conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Rituals or ice breakers are one way to do this, and they work. Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton conducted a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/4816939\/colleagues-group-ritual\/\"><span>study<\/span><\/a><span> of 221 people who were placed into small groups and given a task. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Some of the groups were instructed to begin the task by getting into a circle and chanting \u201clet\u2019s go!\u201d three times while cl<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ing their hands and stomping their feet. The other groups began the task by silently reading an article.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It will come as no surprise that the ritual groups not only performed the task better, but they liked their teammates more as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But if people are waiting for a meeting to begin and not everyone has arrived, ice breakers are rarely an organic or popular option. They take a long time to organize and explain, poorly accommodate the interruption of new participants, and are often met with begrudging participation and eye rolls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Princeton professor Randall Collins<\/span> <span>suggests in his 2005 book <\/span><i><span>Interactive Ritual Chains <\/span><\/i><span>that fully immersive rituals forge stronger bonds than those only based on language like video conference icebreakers. So what do immersive rituals look like?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_games_can_make_for_better_meetings\"><\/span><b>How games can make for better meetings<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Teams<\/span> <span>should be looking for ways to engage in fun, short, optional, collaborative games ahead of meetings. In fact, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/abstract\/document\/8511190\"><span>a 2018 study<\/span><\/a><span> shows that agile development teams that played collaborative games during scrum meetings had improved communication, commitment, and creativity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Imagine walking into an empty conference room before a meeting and finding a giant crossword puzzle sitting in the middle of the table. You start filling in some answers by yourself until someone else walks through the door. Their first question will probably be \u201cWhat is this?\u201d followed by \u201cDo you need help?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>All of a sudden, no one is feeling awkward, and group collaboration has begun before the meeting even starts. It could be as simple as a word jumble or a deck of cards. Games and puzzles give people a shared objective and a natural way to engage with others through competition and camaraderie at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Collaborative games are even more powerful in our remote world where virtual participants can join with the click of a button. When it comes to quick online collaborative games, your options are virtually limitless. Here are a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/marketing\/online-team-building-games\"><span>few fun online games<\/span><\/a><span> to consider sharing and trying with colleagues during that time before a meeting starts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In addition to filling time that would normally go by in awkward silence, playing games can also get the creative juices flowing and activate the mind. It may actually encourage people to show up on time or early!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"If_you_cant_beat_%E2%80%98em_join_%E2%80%98em\"><\/span><b>If you can\u2019t beat \u2018em, join \u2018em<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>A <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/word.tips\/gaming-at-work\/\"><span>recent survey<\/span><\/a><span> shows that 15% of all American workers are already secretly playing games solo during video meetings. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s an argument that those people should not be part of the meeting to begin with if they are that disengaged, which is an entirely different conversation. Steven Rogelberg covers the topic of bloated meetings and the proclivity towards social loafing in his book <\/span><i><span>The Surprising Science of Meetings<\/span><\/i><span>, which I highly recommend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>However, we all relish creative diversions throughout the day, and if people naturally crave games to pass time, consider starting your meetings by focusing that inclination in a productive way. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Engaging in short, easily-joined collaborative games can help move meeting participants along the group developmental stages <\/span><span>\u2014 <\/span><span>from forming and storming into norming and performing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> I\u2019ve made collaborative games a core feature of my fully remote company\u2019s pre-meeting rituals, and we\u2019ve noticed that our meetings are more focused and collaborative as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Try it. You may be surprised how much games can create positive energy at the start of a meeting. At the very least, you\u2019ll have some fun.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-post-pubDate\">\n                                    Published October 15, 2020 \u2014 08:00 UTC\n                                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;appId=378011798897423&amp;version=v2.6\" id=\"socialSrcFacebook\" type=\"text\/template\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/growth-quarters\/2020\/10\/15\/why-i-start-all-my-video-meetings-with-collaborative-games-spoiler-its-not-boredom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Why I start all my video meetings with collaborative games (spoiler: it\u2019s not boredom)&#8221; My career has taken a long and winding road \u2014 from part of Shutterstock\u2019s early executive team, to a Senior Director serving under Secretary of State John Kerry, to moving back into the startup world while managing a remote team across&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/growth-quarters?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/video-games-meetings-gq.png&signature=da69ca6e947a1e9e3e79ab41396bebac","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}