Making The Most Of Your Whiteboard In Meetings

According to MeetingSquared, the average worker spends around 3.7 hours a week in meetings. A tool usually found in most of these meetings is a whiteboard, which can be creatively used to support the progress of a meeting. However, it is often the case that we don’t make the most of available visual communication tools during meetings. To help, this blog offers tips on how a whiteboard can be used to run a great meeting. There will also be advice on how to choose the right whiteboard, based on your specific requirements.

Keeping it structured

A recent piece of research revealed that 40% of survey respondents felt that half of their meetings were unnecessary. This is an overwhelming number that feel they don’t get much benefit from meetings they attend. Often employees don’t know what the purpose of the meeting is. To rectify this and run a structured session, here are some simple steps to follow:

• Define objectives – this is an essential first step. It’s important that staff know why they are attending the meeting and objectives are a great way to ensure everyone has clarity.
• Set out an agenda – using the objectives, create a detailed agenda for the meeting. This will ensure nothing important is forgotten. Circulating the agenda prior to the meeting will also give staff the chance to prepare in advance.
• Summarise and designate actions – a simple but effective way to ensure everyone has benefitted from the meeting is to do a short “clean up” at the end. Key actions should be displayed on the board and assigned to members of the team.

A whiteboard is a valuable aid to structure meetings and display key points. Should employees become lost in discussions, they are able to refer to the board to catch up. Displaying crucial information on a whiteboard also limits any possible confusion for attendees.

Getting creative

A meeting is also a great way to get a group of people together to develop creative ideas. It enables team members to bounce off one another and ideas can be refined using input and opinion from different personalities. During this process, a whiteboard is a handy aid, helping to structure wild ideas and give a visual display of the journey from an initial idea to achievement of a detailed plan.

Whiteboards also offer flexibility in a brainstorming session. If minds are changed, a whiteboard with an easy to clean surface means content on the board that’s no longer needed can be swiftly wiped away.

Choosing your meeting room whiteboard

Selecting the whiteboard that’s right for your meeting is essential if you truly want to make the most of your board. Nobo is revolutionising the way whiteboards are chosen, with selecting the surface that is best suited to your requirements the key to a successful purchase. For example, anyone looking to use a whiteboard in a large company meeting or conference room, Nobo’s Diamond Glass range is perfect. Glass is the best surface type available. It offers exceptional erasability and looks impressive in front of a large audience. Diamond Glass is three times easier to clean than any other whiteboard, so it supports heavy usage. This means it is an ideal choice for a large auditorium setting.

For those seeking a high functioning whiteboard for a smaller formal meeting, Nobo’s Prestige Enamel boards are a great choice. This whiteboard delivers excellent results with every use and ensures a smooth writing experience during creative brainstorming sessions or team meetings. A new and exclusive whiteboard surface Nobo is introducing in 2017 is Nano Clean^TM. This cutting edge technology creates a smooth top layer on the surface of the whiteboard, which prevents ink from penetrating the steel whiteboard’s surface and staining it. With 30% more erasability than regular painted steel surfaces, Nano Clean^TM is a great choice for meetings and smaller brainstorming sessions that require a whiteboard that is easy to maintain.

No matter which whiteboard you chose, it is an invaluable tool to have in any meeting, formal or informal. Whiteboards can make a huge difference throughout a meeting, be that during opening discussions, creative development or at the close of a session to summarise what has been covered.

Why not take a look at the range of Nobo whiteboards that are currently available on OPInfo?

Sources:

http://realbusiness.co.uk/hr-and-management/2016/04/28/need-proof-that-meetings-are-a-waste-of-time-here-it-is/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234637

Article text provided by Nobo