Bells and whistles - does your BIG meeting really need them all?

Over the last three weeks our family has been travelling around the West Coast of the US, visiting amazing places including San Francisco, Yosemite and Los Angeles. We also took the opportunity to visit Las Vegas for two days. Having never been there before we weren't entirely sure what to expect. If you've been there you'll know!

The sheer scale of visual stimulation and noise is just breathtaking. If it doesn't make a noise it lights up. If it doesn't light up it moves etc etc. The city really is a masterpiece in intensity, wherever you may be. The only escape is to get back into the hotel room and decompress in silence.

Our time in Las Vegas leads me to reflect on the BIG meetings and conferences which will no doubt be coming up in the coming months, and how we can achieve a balance in stimulating and engaging participants without overloading the senses.

It is natural to want participants to enjoy their conference experience, whether it is face to face or online, so what can you do to ensure you don't overstimulate participants at the expense of making real meaning from the content? Here are a few ideas (in no particular order)...

• Factor into your agenda time for individual reflection, so participants can make sense of the information received and 'mentally catch up'. Those who need to reflect on content will find this particularly valuable.
• Avoid being stingy with breaks. If you have a lot of content to get through is there something that can give, or be shared in a different way? Longer breaks don't automatically equal wasted time.
• Provide access to space (indoors or outdoors), especially in physical meetings, where participants can take time out to stretch and reset themselves away from the meeting space.
• Plan a balanced range of experiences for the senses. For example, try to avoid too much time spent on receiving mode (in presentations) and combine with opportunities to discuss and explore with fellow participants, maybe on a walk, or work on a business challenge together.
• Accept that pauses are OK. It is tempting to fill spare time with sounds, lights and action. Silent time is powerful in itself, and participants are likely to thank you for it.

These are just some ideas for ensuring that you don't bamboozle your meeting/conference participants to the point where thy simply want to leave. The list is not not exhaustive, and it would be great to hear from you if you have suggestions to add.