Meeting Design - Preparing the presenters

During the recent MPI WEC 2010 in Vancouver, I attended several sessions on meeting design and the future of meetings, and there were some excellent presentations, many recaps available on line - check them out. MPIWEB Events

The importance of meeting design can not be overstated. Organizations spend billions on meetings every year, and how much of the information that is delivered is retained? How much is used? With the importance of lifelong learning being recognized as a critical use of time to improve and engage a work force, are organizations really preparing every meeting to maximize the opportunities?

Are pre-assessments being conducted?

What is the format or the meeting? Is this conducive to the goals that have been set out being met?

Are you avoiding "death by powerpoint"? Coaching your presenters on delivery methods - pacing, tone, tools to engage the audience and help them walk away remembering the key messages? Are you allowing enough time to review the material with the group of presenters and ensure the messages are cohesive with the MVV (mission, vision, values) of the organization? That not only are they comfortable with the material and the presentation, they are excited about the possibilities in bringing these important messages to your teams.

As the meeting planners / event producers we may not be entirely responsible for the content but we sure can be responsible for helping ensure the message is delivered in a way that has the attendees walking out with tools to produce the desired change, having retained the critical information your organization is trying to deliver.  I will be looking at some of the effective tools I have seen in the next few posts.

Going For It!

It seems that after nearly two decades, it is a-ok to trust my event-stincts and be able to provide the best service and the best environment for your guests. It is great to be able to be so excited about the upcoming events and know that they will be the best they can be and to share the passion and enthusiasm for our industry with those of like minds. Think Big - deliver results. Let's keep going for it!

Issues in Tourism

Issue in tourism: a volcano erupts over Iceland disrupting air traffic for days to much of Europe, inbound and outbound. Meanwhile, certain trains in France are also on strike. Chaos ensues. It takes FIVE days for the transport ministers of the various countries to all speak together. Every world leader scheduled to attend the funeral of Poland's leader, one among many killed on a flight to Russia that was meant to recognize the peace found between these countries, is not able to fly in. The issues, the impacts for tourism, meetings, conferences, festivals, honeymoons continue seeming without end. The trains that are running are full, and even those without tickets ride, sitting in the aisles for hours across countries. Car rentals when available are at astronomical rates (2000 euros for two days...), hotels some remain fair, many gouge, airports become filled with mattresses as flyers await news. There is NO planning, no risk management, no contingency to allow for this type of natural disaster. Consumers are all out of pocket for expenses. Airlines are losing an estimated 200 million euros a day. chaos. no recovery will be enough. From 9-11 when humans caused chaos and disruption, nothing like this can be ammortized and insurance companies won't let the airlines take the risks. It is unthinkable and impossible to imagine.

We are the lucky ones. We have accommodation with friends and they continue to let us stay. We can shop at the market for meals, and we have, if they start flying again Tuesday, a confirmed flight for Wednesday. On Friday, Wednesday seemed ridiculous, impossible, so far away, and now we have one day left. The weather has finally warmed up, the family is finally all healthy, and we have enjoyed our "bonus" days very much. So we wait, in comfort and relaxed and able to work on line and meet all our needs, if not able to make all our meetings. Sometimes, life catches us up and we are forced to abide by new timelines, such is this time.

it's all about Mii

I have got to be mii, me, mii! Oh to watch the next generation and c them gro. to see how their virtual world collides with the real world. it is gr8. i (heart) the generation growing up so quickly and rapidly catching us and I long to b so quick to embrace change. and 2 send all my thoughts in 140 characters. definitely not yet!

We need to embrace the opportunities in SMS and tweeting and learning new ways to connect with our colleagues, peers and participants in programs - it is no longer about the keynote presenter's message but about the response to the keynote's message AS IT IS HAPPENING. Our audiences are now texting each other, updating their facebook statuses and tweeting their thoughts from the minute the speaker starts.

The only differentiator we truly have is to be able to deliver the best experience in real time! This is the je ne sais quoi that keeps us fascinated by this challenging industry in this interesting time - the belief that we can create an experience that inspires positive tweets, texts, blogs and pictures that show the beauty and magic that we create with environments and events that are gr8, and deliver to the individual needs of our many mii's! We (heart) this industry!

Are you getting your vegetables?

It has been a week of thinking about vegetables. Near our office this week a fabulous Lebanese restaurant opened, and on our first of what will be many trips there, I chose as my entree, cauliflower. Now really, before now, who ever would have thought of cauliflower as an entree? I don't think even the vegetarians I know would consider this an entree, and yet, here I was LOVING the cauliflower.

Then there was the broccoli... or at least that is how it appeared, until the close up came in, that it was broccoli that was being given to our Olympic medal winners. Of course it turned out that there were indeed a lovely combination of local floral, and that the building of the arrangements had involved training for women seeking to turn their lives around with new job skills, and that with something as simple as flowers, we were indeed making a difference. Broccoli IS cool!

Then there are carrots. Much business thinking has involved carrots. 24 carrot management... carrots and sticks and whether or not "we" should rely on extrinsic motivators when managing a global, national or local people force. Should we eliminate carrots and focus on intrinsic motivators instead, finding out what makes people achievers, rather than creating the rewards we think will encourage productivity? Better yet, if we create extrinsic rewards, such as the always striven for incentive trip, how can we create elements within that trip to meet the intrinsic motivators of people. For example, what if we created one day within a trip where everyone was separated into teams, and instead of a scavenger hunt we gave them one day and even into the evening if they want, to work on anything they want, with whoever they choose - it could be two people or twelve. The only rule is that when you all regroup the next day, each team has to deliver something. A prototype for a new product or system, an idea that will provide a solution to something THEY consider a challenge or problem that requires it. The carrot? Engagement and belief that their ideas will be heard. Wouldn't this make us all winners at the end of the meal? Bring on the salad!

2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games

Thank you world, for coming to Vancouver and Whistler to share the fabulous Games with us. It all began with a 107 day Cross Canada relay that began before Halloween 2009, a relay that was designed to and successful in embracing all Canadians. From dogsled to canoe, floatplane to foot, the methods of transport covered everything we could imagine, and a little bit more. Whether it was plus 10 or minus 20, Canadians came out and celebrated. When I have asked friends and colleagues, many from countries around the world, who were part of the team that traversed the country what their highlights were, it always came back to the people. From our First Nations reserves and military bases, to the small towns and capital cities, the welcome was consistently overwhelming and their memories are unlimited. The Ceremonies including the nightly victory and medal presentations, the Sports, the athletes and their vast supporting teams, the visitors and the fantastic weather all wove the fabric for a fantastic experience shared by so many. The many pavilions were a highlight for both visitors and for locals, and again the experiences, even with lines from one hour to eight (the wildly successful Royal Canadian Mint was beyond popular) all contributed to the emotion. The National Houses, from Russia to Italy, Switzerland to Holland, and so many more showed off the best of these locations as they presented the face of how they are now wanting to be perceived in the world provided a reason to go out and see these. The Canadian pavilions beyond the Mint, from our country pavilion to each province, the Northern House (still open through April) all showcased the best coming out of these provinces from music to sports and culture and provided a great reason to come downtown. Oh downtown... Robson and Granville at the heart of the city, became the must attend place. With six hour line-ups to ride the zipline across to the Art Gallery landing pad, a skating rink, live bands and the collective energy of thousands daily, this was Canadian-ism at its best. CODE is the forum set up at www.vancouver2010.com that provided the avenue for all people to contribute their digital memories to be shared with the world, and its success also unprecedented. We were lucky to have had a hand in pavilions, hospitality programs and to get out and attend a variety of ceremonies and sporting events at both the Olympics and Paralympics, and what a positive experience. Everyone on our team was lucky to have been a part of this, and as we settle back into the routine, we are excited to bring this energy and positive force to the programs that build on the reputation developed even further of Vancouver and Whistler as truly exciting destinations that must be added to everyone's bucket list. Welcome world, we look forward to seeing you here.

Authentic Experiences

Authentic experiences. Transparent information. What matters to you? In the last couple of years we have seen a shift in what matters to our clients and our guests. When I first started in the industry, we still had a telex number, and the focus was “education and networking”. When travel became tighter, we heard that videoconferencing would be the new wave. While this is an option, as human beings, we are experience seekers, and we want to talk face to face with others, and build relationships with people, so fortunately meetings and events continued to flourish. Through the late 1990’s it was all flash and excitement, a fun time to be on the technology and entertainment side of the event planning business! In the early part of this century, a global concern with the environment was all around us, and it was all about “green” meetings, which always mattered to us and is now simply the way we do things across all aspects internally and with our events. During the boom times, the focus shifted to corporate social responsibility, as organizations continued to give back, but also began to publicize how they were giving back, and to build CSR programming into their events. With the advent of the internet, how organization delivered messages internally and externally has shifted exponentially, with blogs from senior executives becoming nearly a norm, for example. With social networking, including blogging, live journals, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter-ing, the world has gone from six degrees of separation to almost none, with information accessible with the click of a mouse on any subject imaginable, from anywhere in the world, from anyone who chooses to share it. What does this mean when you are planning an event? To us it means beginning with what happens in the workplace to create the need for a meeting or incentive reward trip – how does your organization measure value? When you come to us looking to take care of your guests and enhance your meeting and event experience, we are going to find ways to be your best partner to do this. We want you to talk to us, tell us your needs and your challenges, and together we will create the best solutions for you. We understand the changing optics of perception, and ultimately we want to create events and environments that will inspire your guests and deliver memorable experiences, but that can also stand up to the scrutiny of our current times. We know that people still need to meet and share knowledge, that travel rewards still remain a top motivator, and that building relationships within your organization, with clients and prospective clients face-to-face, has a validity and value that can’t be fully measured. We feel fortunate that Western Canada is known for its ability to deliver natural, authentic, high-quality experiences in a setting that is unmatched, and that we get to share it with so many!