I was introduced to Shane ‘virtually’ through another strategic consultant recently. He has similar ‘go get ‘em’ energy and Midwestern down-to-earthiness that I like to think I also exhibit and we immediately clicked. He and his team are wrapping up a refresh of my video learning platform, the Language of Leadership (languageofleadership.org), and including loads of new, easy-to-apply, free downloads.

The idea to include this latest download originated the previous week during one of my executive coaching sessions. My client was sharing his agenda for the month’s end sales meeting. Unfortunately, the meeting’s rundown listed one boring topic after another. Same old, same old.

“I’d like you to pretend you’re a news show producer,” I encouraged.

“What do you mean?” came his response. And now, as I explained to him, and before I share this with the virtual world in soon-to-arrive PDF form, I am delighted to share my concept with you.

Before I was a reporter for CNN, I had a brief stint as a line producer for Washington, DC news station WTTG. I was responsible for organising the order of the morning news programme. I chose which story would lead, what would follow next, what might be the upbeat kicker leading into the commercial break before the sports segment, etc. You get the idea. The objective, every time, was to grab and maintain sufficient audience interest to keep them tuned in through the entire programme.

Business meetings should strive for the same objective. Yet most meetings are churned out the same boring way every time. People don’t even pretend to pay attention. They bring their phones into the virtual or in-person room and text each other even as the leader is speaking.

The next time you are preparing a meeting, take a little extra time to consider these show producer ideas:

1 Begin strong

The first subject you present to your audience sets the energy for the entire meeting. Try starting with an engaging ice breaker or lead with a bold, aspirational vision statement. Just do about anything other than read through the agenda that’s accompanying you in a slide or printed on a paper. Yawn.

2 Be flexible with your order

Review the items on your planned agenda. If there’s a topic that you know is already on everyone’s mind, then move it to the top. Do you have two downer bits next to each other that will deflate your team’s energy? Consider splitting them up. The pace of the meeting should vary, not be monotonous.

3 Have more than one speaker

News programmes use a mix of speakers. From two anchors to live-shot reporters, analysts and sportscasters to weather and traffic personalities. Imagine if the show was just one solitary person presenting. So why conduct a business meeting in which only the leader speaks? Share the stage with as many different perspectives and voices as possible. Mix it up from meeting to meeting.

4 Create breaks

In the same way a news programme breaks for a commercial or public service announcement, you can break up your next meeting by taking quick comments or questions from your team. Simply asking, “What do you think?” changes the dynamic from a lecture to an interactive event. Aim to improve engagement.

5 Finish with a positive kicker

Most news programmes end on a light feature or human-interest story. Likewise, the conclusion of your next business meeting is your opportunity to leave your audience with an uplifting feeling or positive call to action.

For those of you who might be tempted to object to this approach saying, “But we need to cover a lot of information. This sounds too much like a team-building or relationship-building exercise,” let me leave you with the wise words of Susan Scott, best-selling author of Fierce Leadership and Fierce Conversations. She has spent the past twenty years challenging people to change the way they communicate. I had the privilege of interviewing her for a virtual event last week during which she stressed that: “Meetings are conversations and conversations are relationships.”

Now that you’ve read this column, you already have your newsroom-styled meeting guide, so you don’t need to download my file. But if you are curious to see the flair the gang at Klear Digital come up with, pop over to Languageofleadership.org and take a look. I’d love to hear what you think. Let’s have a conversation.

Write to Gina in care of SundayBusiness@independent.ie

With corporate clients in five continents, Gina London is a premier communications strategy, structure and delivery expert. She is also a media analyst, author, speaker and former CNN anchor. @TheGinaLondon