The supertanker changes its course only slowly

Eric is disappointed. For more than twenty years he has been trying to convince organizers of the added value of meeting design to put an end to ineffective meetings. But ultimately, they must convince their clients – whether internal or external – that meetings also need to be designed, just like cars, chairs, houses, buildings and so on.

The supertanker changes its course only slowly. Much too slow for Eric de Groot's liking.

Sure, his message is approved by those who must organize the events. His session on meeting design last year was highly appreciated by the members of the Dutch Society for Event Managers, with many requests for a follow-up session. It is often the decision makers who have cold feet.

Follow up

On Monday, October 16, De Groot is present for a follow-up with Cloud Nine, the Jazz-style Hall of TivoliVredenburg, as an atmospheric ambiance. In recent months he has toured around the world together with Mike van der Vijver, with whom he operates and publishes together under the name Mindmeeting, to promote their new workbook Meetings, by Default or by Design. They took advantage of that tour to also conduct research among their participants.

The recurring question was ‘Which elements would you like to spend more or less time on in an eight-hour program?” Across the board, the result is less time spent on presentations, logistics and non-programmed activities and more time for mutual exchange, group work and relationship development. Roughly speaking, one wants to exchange an hour and a half of the 'less' for an hour and a half of the 'more' in a day program. Even insurmountable issues such as logistics and non-programmed activities can be made useful if you link them to a network function, De Groot gives as an practical advice.

Practice what you preach

In the spirit of practising what you preach we are asked to find someone in the room whom we do not yet know and to look at the other person three meters apart without saying anything. A distance that is halved after some time. This activity alone creates a bond that can only be achieved with a live meeting, De Groot argues.

As a follow-up to this exercise, the couples walk arm in arm through the room, taking turns telling each other about a special place they would like to invite the other to. At the end, the occasional duos tell each other whether they will accept the invitation. Another example of 'bonding' in a few minutes, avoiding the usual business pitch.

Teamwork

The next activity focuses on group work, something on which meeting planners worldwide would like to spend almost a quarter of the event program. Groups of three may come up with a meaningful group activity based on predetermined issues, such as a group of accountants who must delve deeper into their clients’ minds.

It turns out that all groups managed to come up with an original group activity in just fifteen minutes. The only pitfall in which some proposals fail is that they are designed to convey a (pedagogic) message to the participants. Group work is only effective if you let the participants work out the different aspects of the issue together.

Create involvement

In the second part of the program, De Groot emphasizes involvement in the entire customer journey of a meeting. The core of his argument is that you cannot expect involvement from the participants if you do not demonstrate it yourself, for example in the programming, the invitation, during the sessions, in the closing words and in the participant survey. The message is that if you want participants to participate, you must give them the opportunity to do so and take their input seriously.

De Groot's various incorrect examples and challenging statements provide sufficient interactivity for event managers who would also like to test his ideas in everyday practice. Well, they want to, but...