Why Do You Meet?

When I attended my first training meeting, I was instructed by my manager not to get distracted by the speaker, but to try and focus on the information the speaker was delivering. Good advice, because when the speaker entered the room, he was a very unimpressive man with a speech impediment that after a period of time really got on one's nerves and to this day, I don't remember what he said. He was followed by another man in a wheelchair who told a heart wrenching story about his life and then followed it with some really impressive sales training. He made the group get up and repeat after him, and interact with him.  We cried, we laughed, and I remember him well. I never anticipated being the one who would be planning events like this but this experience taught me one thing: make it memorable!

No matter what your reason for meeting is, if you create an experience, people will remember it longer! There are so many tools that bring relevance to meetings now such as: corporate social responsibility (CSR), team building, and appreciation elements. These tools help you to create a lasting impression on the attendees and aid you in meeting your goals. Here are a few questions you may want to consider:

What do you stand for? 

Corporate Social Responsibility starts with good citizenship. The spirit of CSR encourages experiences that create a positive impact with employees, consumers, and the community through targeted activities. The Clarke Allen Group has created experiential programs that incorporate ways for your organization to meet and accomplish organizational goals while providing needed support for the community.

What are you trying to accomplish?

• Promote learning
• Improve Communications
• Develop Corporate Culture
• Strengthen your team
• Improve collaboration

Experience fresh new ways to accomplish your goals with team building programs incorporated into your meeting agenda.

Who do you stand for? 

Creating a unique experience for your employees, volunteers, or other contributors on your team is a great way to encourage and motivate them. If you think about it, there are many ways they contribute to your success, and appreciation events are the most sincere forum you can provide to acknowledge them. We develop stand alone appreciation programs and events, and ideas on how those can be incorporated into meetings.

As a planner, but moreover as an attendee, I appreciate the efforts of the people in my life who have taken the time to make meetings more interesting. As a student of the industry, I look for creative ways to share ideas with others, and what really makes me happy is seeing clients meet their goals and discover that they can make a difference in their organization and their community.