If you’re responsible for hosting meetings or leading any kind of group gathering, one of your main jobs is to help people convert attendance into attention.
Because let’s be honest—people don’t automatically show up engaged. In this post, I’m going to share five practical context hooks—simple, intentional ways to kick off a meeting or session that helps people become fully present and engaged right away. These strategies set the tone and create the kind of connection that leads to powerful collaboration.
What Is a Context Hook?
A context hook is something you do in the first few minutes of a gathering to set the emotional and cognitive tone. These aren’t fluffy icebreakers. And it isn’t a facilitator rant trying to “gain rapport.” They are rooted in intention and connection to the purpose of why everybody is parting with their time to be there.
A context hook is anything you say or do in the first couple minutes that invites people into the present moment and creates buy-in for the rest of your gathering.
Let’s dive in with method number one.
1. The Google (or ChatGPT) Method
Ask everyone to quickly Google an inspiring or unusual word related to the session’s purpose. One of my favorites is an Inuit word, isumataq, that loosely translates to:
“Creating the environment where wisdom reveals itself.”
You might offer the direction in the form of a challenge:
“First person to drop the meaning in the chat—or share it aloud—wins bonus points!”
This tiny dose of healthy competition wakes up the group and sets the tone for meaningful engagement. It also models your larger goal: creating the kind of space where insight naturally surfaces.
This is one of my favorite group activities to kickoff a meeting because it’s short, energizing, and gets everyone thinking.
2. Contribution Questions
Adapted from Peter Block’s work, these questions get people to self-reflect and take ownership of their participation by rating each of their responses to the prompts below on a scale from 1 to 7:
- To what degree do you intend to get value out of this session?
- To what degree are you willing to engage personally?
- To what degree are you willing to take risks to learn?
You can send these via a QR code, an online form, or just verbally. Then say:
“How you engage is your choice—now, in 30 minutes, and three hours from now. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out.”
These questions shift people from passive attendees to active contributors—fast.
This technique also fits beautifully into the toolbox of team building activities for adults who need permission and structure to get real.
3. Painkiller Calculator
This is one of the most impactful context hooks I’ve ever used.
I once worked with a group of busy insurance executives who weren’t thrilled about a session on virtual engagement. So I asked:
“How many hours will you be in meetings this week?”
Answers flew in: 20, 30, 40+. Some over 50.
Then I said:
“My goal in this session is to reduce the pain and exhaustion you experience in those meetings. Whether I’m here or not, you’ll have those meetings. But I can help make them suck less.”
Boom. Immediate buy-in.
This method is an especially helpful for icebreakers for virtual meetings—you make their pain visible, then promise to relieve it.
4. Prepare to Share
If you plan to invite small group conversations, give people time to think before speaking.
For example:
“Write down five things taking up your brain space lately. Now, pick one and share it in a group of three.”
This honors introverts, thinkers, and people who appreciate structure. It’s a key part of our Connection Before Content Masterclass—because when people are mentally ready to share, they actually connect more meaningfully.
Use this technique to transition into an icebreakers for small groups that doesn’t feel forced or awkward. It works wonders in workshops, team meetings, classrooms—anywhere humans gather.
5. Intention = Context Gold
One of the most powerful ways to open any session is by stating your intent—and then adding “…so that…” to the end of the sentence.
Here’s an example:
“My intent is to share five compelling ways to start your next gathering…so that... you look really good when facilitating your next meeting and maybe even get promoted.”
The “so that”helps you connect your purpose with what your audience actually values—time, reputation, money, contribution, connection.
This is especially important for team building for work and leaders facilitating change. Just make sure to keep it honest. False promises erode trust.
Bonus Hook: Create a Moment of Silence
This one’s wild because it’s so simple:
Just pause.
No slides. No speaking. Just hold the space.
This moment of unexpected stillness can be profound. It creates presence. It opens a door for your group to arrive, not just attend.
Use These Context Hooks to Transform Meetings
Each of these context hooks is designed to turn on human intelligence before content is delivered.
Instead of jumping straight into an agenda, try:
- Having the group Google or ChatGPT something that connects to your purpose
- Asking contribution questions
- Calculating shared pain
- Allowing “prepare to share” time
- Sharing intent with a “so that”
- Or just embracing a bit of silence
You’ll be amazed at how these low-effort tweaks make group engagement soar.
