How do you end Zoom team meetings with good energy?

Simulate Huddle Hands to Make Team Members Feel Physically Closer

We end our facilitated team building events and our in-house meetings the same way. Zoom participants put their hands “in the middle” huddle style, going down on team, up on building, “with the inner intensity of a thousand burning suns.” This action simulates a classic teamwork maneuver, and helps team members feel physically closer. Although slightly silly, the routine gets remote workers moving and making noise and can end the activity on a high note. Plus, since we do this gesture at the end of every meeting, it becomes a ritual that creates a sort of insider culture among our staff and clients.

Share Something You’re Grateful for

Ending a team meeting with a note of gratitude leaves members with good energy and a positive mindset to tackle any upcoming challenges. Research has shown that taking note of and verbalizing small things you are grateful for not only lifts one’s mood, but also improves productivity. Sharing appreciation of other members especially can bring the team closer together.

Steer Meetings to Share Personal Stories and Excitement

A great strategy to end Zoom meetings on a good note is to orient the conversation away from business and allow for a team “decompression” before signing off. Sometimes we ask our teams what anyone is looking forward to on their weekends, welcoming all answers. Other times, we might ask a team member to introduce their pets at the end of a call to steal some dopamine for the team with their cute fuzzy faces. Meetings never need to be business all the time, especially for regular team meetings that don’t have a tight, specific agenda. Team meetings are just as much about team cohesion and community as business initiatives and improvements. Get curious about your teams’ personal lives and personalities and create open spaces that encourage employees to share slices of excitement with their coworkers.

End With a Short Wellness Exercise

It’s undeniable that meetings can be rich with information and insights, especially if you work in a remote setting. This is why, as a leader, it can be crucial to wrap up these meetings on a positive note while creating space for your employees to integrate the contents of the meeting. A great way to do this is through a short wellness practice like a breathing exercise that will leave your employees feeling just a little more refreshed and grounded.

Have Everyone Share Something Positive that Happened

As business leaders, we have the opportunity to set the tone for everything within the company, so you can choose to create positive experiences even during unlikely times. When you are ending a Zoom meeting, you can create a positive moment and bonding experience by asking everyone to share something positive that happened that week or that day. It could be something simple: I got to meditate today when I woke up and made my sales quota. By creating a space for sharing positivity, you are sure to leave everyone feeling good energy.

Give Positive Shout-Outs to Team Members

Include a team member shout-out in each of your team Zoom meetings. You can acknowledge people for major wins or even small gestures that stood out. When people feel recognized for their contributions, it boosts their confidence. Everyone benefits from hearing uplifting things and seeing that hard work, kindness, and small gestures are noticed and appreciated. By celebrating your employees, you can end a Zoom with good energy.

Thank Everyone and Bring Up an Exciting Expectation

End the meeting quickly by thanking everyone and stating the exciting big picture goals for the coming week or month. Once a meeting is clearly winding to a close, attendees are itching to get out of there. Their eyes glaze over, and they want to hit that “leave” button. Keep your closing statement as brief as possible, since rambling on too long will limit your words’ ability to motivate. Rather, leave them positive words of encouragement and gratitude to take with them as they continue with their work.

End With Humor

Ending Zoom meetings doesn’t have to be the routine, “have a good day” line from everyone. Instead end with a joke. Invite someone new each meeting to tell their best dad joke. This will end the meeting on a positive note and provide a much needed laugh.  Ending a meeting with humor will send everyone off with a smile and positive energy.  People will begin to look forward to the meetings just to hear the joke of the day.

Play a Positive High-Energy Song

Play a positive, high-energy song. It’s one of the best ways to leave online meetings on a high note, I believe. Such a fun ending of a team meeting may have the power to energize and motivate the participants. Just think about listening to “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake, “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves, or “Beautiful Day” by U2 before going back to your work duties. Great vision, isn’t it? It will bring your productivity to a whole new level. Additionally, team members can create their “good-energy playlist” together.

Ask Each Team Member to List a Thing They Are Anticipating

Ask each of your team members to say something they are looking forward to this week. It doesn’t have to be work related, but rather is a nice way to get everyone talking and looking forward to something in their immediate futures. The “anticipation effect” is a real thing and proves time and time again to be a great tool in building motivation for work and improving workplace satisfaction and happiness.

Summarize the Key Takeaways

People tend to resent meetings that don’t yield clear progress, actions or next steps, so one simple way to end a team meeting on Zoom with good energy is to summarize the key takeaways from the meeting and discuss any follow-up actions that need to be taken. This helps everyone feel motivated and excited about moving forward, while also ensuring that important tasks don’t slip through the cracks. It also reinforces the value of the meeting itself, helping to justify the time it has taken out of attendee’s schedules, and alleviating any dissatisfaction or frustration that people may have felt during the meeting. 

Additionally, if your team uses collaborative tools like Slack or Asana, you can allot a few minutes at the end of each meeting to discuss follow-up actions in one of those platforms. This can also help to increase engagement and productivity among team members in the days and weeks after a meeting, by making it easier for everyone to stay involved and on top of their work.

End With an Impromptu Brainstorming Session

If you want to end a Zoom call with your team’s creative energy going through the roof, then do a quick brainstorming session! Whether you’re coming up with ideas for a new marketing strategy, or deciding where to host your company’s next event, casually jumping in with ideas is an excellent way to help your team bond and encourage engagement. Plus, the energy will flow over into the rest of the day, and you’ll find that everyone is being more productive.

Allow Teammates to Give Shoutouts

Allow teammates to give shoutouts to each other. This creates a positive team culture and improves work ethic and productivity. Whether a team member was a successful partner in a project or found a solution to an ongoing problem, recognition goes a long way. This ultimately improves relationships with colleagues and ends the meeting on a high note.

Do a Virtual Team-Building Activity

One way you can end a team meeting on Zoom with good energy is by doing a virtual team-building activity. This can be something as simple as playing a game of charades or Pictionary. Or, if you want to get everyone up and moving, you can do a virtual scavenger hunt or have a dance party. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something that everyone can participate in and that will get everyone laughing and having fun.

Make Space for Everyone to Say a Last Word

At the end of each meeting, make everyone feel good – highlight the positive contributions each team member has made. Then, open up the meeting for all. Too often, meetings are dominated by a few. Make a habit of reserving 5–10 minutes at the end of each meeting to hand over the mike to the team – make space and encourage all members to have their say, without interruptions. This is their time to be heard.