💀 Most meetings aren’t boring because of the format. They’re boring because the stakes are fake.
Clients blame agendas, tech tools, slide decks, even “Zoom fatigue.” But deep down, they know the real issue:
Nobody is saying what they actually think. Nobody is doing what they’re scared to do. And nobody is willing to name the elephant in the room.
So you end up with beautifully facilitated, soul-dead check-ins. Polished decks with no tension. “Breakouts” that break nothing.
The harsh truth is:
• Your meeting isn’t underperforming. Your culture is.
• You don’t need better facilitation. You need real stakes.
• You’re not lacking alignment. You’re avoiding confrontation.
Until that’s acknowledged—and fixed—every meeting is just a performance of progress.
For instance, I once got asked to facilitate a fun, virtual team building event. In interviewing the stakeholders, it turns out the WORST idea would be a fun, virtual team building event.
It was a meeting with a Taiwan company and an American company and they had been fighting since COVID started.
Instead of a fun, virtual team building event, I suggested a 3-hour virtual meeting that will take the first step to repairing the relationship.
These REAL stakes resulted in the Taiwanese CEO to fully realize how damaged their relationship was and committing to repair it on his first post-COVID visit.
I help you get to the real stakes on virtual, hybrid, in-person, multiple continents and on the moon.
What are YOUR real stakes?
-John Chen
CEO, Engaging Virtual Meetings
Your experts in engaging virtual and hybrid meetings
—INVITATION—–
Raise your stakes at
The Engaging Jam
9/24/2025 11am -12pm PST
Featuring multiple experts on Engagement including the 2x Training Magazine #1 Company CLO.
Click https://zoom.us/meeting/register/RUfEBeJyQE6t4LQ8ZUY1Rg to register now.
FREE!
—UPCOMING CALENDAR—–
9/9/2025-9/10/2025 – Speakapalooza
Keynote Speaker
9/11/2025 9am-2pm EST – GHCA 2025 Quality Summit
Virtual Emcee
https://web.cvent.com/event/78d66285-cbfb-4658-baa3-812711c788a4/summary
9/11/2025 – NSA NW Columbia Tower Mixer
https://nsanorthwest.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=372276&item_id=2700457
9/13/2025 – Florida Speakers Association
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
https://www.floridaspeakers.org/
9/18/2025 – ATD St. Louis Conference
Producer
https://www.atdstl.org/event-4856565
9/26/2025 – Setting up The Leneker Group Podcast
Private
10/10/2025 Imagine Breakfast for Champions
Everett WA
10/19/2025 – 10/21/2025
Pinnacle Performers Elite Mastermind
Tiburon, CA
https://ppemastermind.com/
By invitation only
10/19/2025 – 10/22/2025
The Presentation Summit
The BEST place to learn how to make your presentations even better.
I will be the Main Producer and Speaker
https://betterpresenting.com/summit25/
10/28/2025 – 10/30/2025 – The Engaging Retreat 2025
If you want to learn how to be more engaging as speaker or an event planner, this is your retreat to bring you NEW ideas.
The first 50 to register in-person get 5-minutes on stage with coaching and 4-camera video returned to you.
Bothell, WA and Virtual
https://evmconference.eventbrite.com?discount=evmjohn
11/5/2025 – 11/6/2025 NSA Activate
NSA’s Virtual Conference!
https://activate.nsaspeaker.org/
11/6/2025-11/9/2025 IMEX
Las Vegas, NV
https://imexamerica.com/newfront
11/15/2025 NSA NW Confab with Legendary Speaker Patricia Fripp!
Mercer Island, WA and Virtual
9am-12pm PST + Optional Lunch
https://nsanorthwest.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=372276&item_id=2607859
11/15/2025-11/16/2025 The Gottman Institute Retreat
Producer
https://www.gottman.com/product/gottman-retreat-november-2025/
11/18/2025 – 11/20/2025 – Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education Symposium 2025
Phoenix AZ and Virtual
I am the Virtual Emcee
https://www.afcpe.org/symposium/
