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 The
“Fun” police have arrived because we’ve broken a golden rule: our
meetings have become much too serious. After taking one look at our
attendees, they know we are guilty of being “playfully challenged.”
Bail is set—play, play, play. Does your punishment sound too easy?
Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on the intensity of the seriousness
of your meetings. |
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To
redeem yourself from your “criminal” sentence, you will need to relearn
the secret of incorporating fun into your meetings. Play is something
that we engaged in freely and unconsciously as a child, but as an
adult it becomes more difficult. Acting “grown-up” in business has
become analogous to having no fun. Although, research indicates that
when we are having fun, we develop new neural cells in areas devoted
to learning and memory. |
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You
give the “fun” police your statement. “Fun is at the bottom of my
list! This is serious business . . the city, hotel, catering company,
speaker and staying within my budget are important parts of my job.”
That is true, but if your job has no fun and it is not fun for attendees,
will the meeting be a success? |
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Most of us attend
conventions and meetings:
1. for the educational opportunities,
2. to network,
3. because we are required to do so, or
4. to have fun.
What can you do to increase the chances that you will plan a successful
meeting so that people will want to attend?
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1.
Educational opportunities are usually one of the building blocks of
the meeting. Regardless of the topic, speakers can make their presentation
more interactive and fun. The audience will benefit by learning more
information which they can begin applying immediately. |
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2.
Informal networking happens everywhere from the general sessions to
the restroom. At least it does for those people who are gregarious.
The remainder of us need a structured networking environment. Formal
networking can be incorporated into every educational session. Meeting
new people and establishing relationships can be fun, if it is structured
properly. Networking opportunities encourage the attendee to share
their uniqueness. That can be accomplished through creatively enhancing
their name tag (See “Grams” description in the side bar). |
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3.
Even though people may be required to attend, some can make it a worthwhile
experience. Others may come with a “chip on their shoulder.” We can
make the experience more pleasant and enjoyable for those who attend
with an open mind . . . we may even be able to knock the chip off
someone's shoulder by doing fun activities like monikers, treasure
hunt, etc. (described in the side bar). |
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4.
Those people that attend just to have fun are able to accomplish this
anywhere. However, we want to encourage them to attend the sessions
and learn the material that is important for their professional development.
By providing a learning environment that is fun, we can get them out
of the swimming pool and into the classroom. |
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How
can we provide opportunities to meet the needs of our attendees in
these four areas? The meeting planning must take a proactive approach.
Make certain that every aspect has fun built into it. Ask the speakers
about their style of delivery. Do they encourage the audience to become
involved? Are there ways for each attendee to establish new contacts
during the presentation? Attendees that are involved and having fun
in the sessions will better understand the information and use it
to make positive changes. |
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It
is the responsibility, of both the speaker and the meeting planner
to help attendees meet other people in a non threatening, enjoyable
atmosphere. A significant reason that people decide to attend meetings
is to nurture relationships with those they met at previous meetings.
And we know that the shortest distance between two people is fun.
So, as we provide networking opportunities it will make our programs
better, facilitate the attendees networking, and above all, it will
be fun. This will provide job security for all of us because we cannot
have meetings if no one attends. |
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The
“Fun” police will be watching. Here are a few ideas to help you make
sure you will be able to remain out on bail . . .
Ideas
to make your meetings more fun: |
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Robin
Thompson is a professional speaker, trainer, and the author oF "Know
Stress to No Stress". She works with organizations
that want to keep good employees and with meeting planners who want
to put some fun into their next meeting or event.
For more information she can be contacted via
e-mail: speaker@RobinThompson.com
phone: (304) 763-3222
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