What are Instant Feedback Meeting Artefacts (IFMAs)?
IFMAs are artefacts that help meetings to get instant feedback in meetings from participants.
Why would you use IFMAs?
All participants should feel responsible for a successful and meaningful meeting; it is not the sole responsibility of the meeting moderator or facilitator. Most reasons why meetings do not produce successful and meaningful results are either endless discussions, lost focus or dwindling concentration.
IFMAs can help to address those causes in an entertaining and easy way by participants themselves.
How to use IFMAs?
IFMAs are introduced at the beginning of the meeting or the workshops. Each IFMA has a name and a meaning. Whenever a participant feels the urge to use the IFMA she grabs it, holds it up high and shouts the name of the IFMA.
Example, please…
Here we go! I experimented with different IFMAs in the last years. Those are my favorites:
(I need a) Break-Clown
(I need more) Focus-Police
(I am) Lost-Professor (please rewind that conversation)
It is important to introduce the IFMAs at the beginning of the meeting. It will raise the willingness of the participants to ask for breaks, focus and orientation and thus help your meeting or workshop to be more successful. You will most probably earn some smiles as well, when holding up those Playmobil® figures when explaining their meaning.
Of course, you don’t have to use Playmobil® (although those are fun). LEGO® might be a bit small here, but a buzzer (on a mobile phone application) or a hotel bell or simply some colored cards will work as well.