Making Sense of Meetings

Whether you’re putting together a small roundtable discussion for a dozen people, or producing a ballroom gathering for hundreds, the list of activities necessary to host a successful and engaging meeting can pile up quickly. 

Under pressure to meet deadlines, coordinate event logistics, and manage vendors, it’s often easy to forget that when the doors open, your participants’ first impressions will greatly influence their evaluation of the overall experience.

 So the rhetorical question becomes: Do you want to leave those critical first impressions to chance; or do you want to specifically manage impressions to create a positive, comfortable, and engaging experience?

 One powerful way to achieve this is to perform a sensory assessment on your meeting space. It’s an easy but often overlooked exercise that can both reduce negative impressions and lead to creative ideas.

 To conduct a sensory assessment, enter your meeting space as if you were a participant. For a minimum of one minute each, isolate and focus on the impressions you get via each of the five senses - sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.

 Sight: What do you see? What should you not see? Look for specific details. Is anything out of place, or in need of repair or cleaning. Can you take advantage of visual elements in the room – a great view, artwork, or interesting architectural elements? Consider how to best control the natural and artificial lighting throughout the meeting; including upon entering, exiting, and during breaks.

 Sound: What do you hear? What do you want to hear? Is a rattling air conditioner going to distract your group? What type of music – if any – is appropriate, and when? Is there a tuba convention tuning up on the other side of that airwall?

 Touch: What is inviting to the touch? What is not inviting? Include not only the input from your hands, but also your feet and derrière. Are the sagging cushions on those older conference chairs going to lead to distracting discomfort? Should you cover that newly waxed floor with an area rug so presenters don’t break their legs on the way to the podium? Be sure to include room temperature in this category -- a few degrees either way can make or break a meeting.

Smell: What do you smell? What should you smell – or not? Are those salmon platters in the back of the room going to be an issue after a couple hours? Take a cue from the Venetian in Las Vegas, which employs a light floral scent throughout the casino – an inviting upgrade from the stale cigarette smoke of many casinos. One easy approach: use scented flip chart markers.

 Taste: What sense of taste is evoked? How can it be used effectively? Have a balanced and appropriate menu planned. An inexpensive popcorn popper in the afternoon is often a big hit with groups. Often even some simple mints or hard candy can chase away those distracting mid-morning energy dips. One favorite appeal the sense of taste: candy dishes filled with cinnamon fire balls!

 Observe Behavior: This is an additional element that is not one of the five senses, but crucial nonetheless. Take a moment to observe both worker and participant behavior. Make sure staff are keeping private discussions out of earshot. Watch participants to see if they’re encountering problems. Perhaps they can’t find the restrooms or have lost their pen. By observing behavior, you’ll be able to quickly and effectively keep participants focused on the reason they’re there: the meeting.

 Remember, whether you want them to or not, your meeting-goers will form a first impression. It’s better to actively manage those impressions than to let them form in a haphazard fashion.

 So for your next event, reexamine the impressions you want to convey, then conduct a sensory assessment to help ensure a truly memorable meeting.