Traditional corporate meetings have never terribly excited anyone in the workforce. While previous generations resigned themselves to sitting through endless stuffy meetings, millennials have realized there are better — and more productive — ways to spend their time. This has spilled over to conferences and events as well. The stuffy, rigid, hard-sell ways of the past just aren’t doing the trick for a modern millennial audience.
So how do you adapt? How do you keep your workforce engaged, or visitors to an event feeling connected and interested? It’s actually not that hard. The best part is, these tips don’t just work for millennials — everyone will enjoy these changes to your regular corporate events and meetings.
Get Personal
Theater-style seating presentations are a great way to inspire your audience to turn on their phones and browse the internet while you talk. Instead, try unique seating arrangements; something less formal. Rather than present in a theater, present in a lounge space.
Encourage a more informal seating arrangement that’s comfortable for viewers and perhaps more intimate for the speaker. The audience will feel more connected and engaged, particularly if it’s in a small space.
Get Improvisational
Allow for flexible interaction between yourself and your audience with a space that allows you to move freely throughout. Standing bar tables, for example, are a great way to increase energy and allow for easy movement throughout the space.
Get Power
Business professionals of all ages are constantly switched on to their phone. One of the drawbacks is constantly needing to find a power source to charge the battery. Invest in some powered furniture that allows people to charge their devices on their phone. You’ll avoid people squabbling over the few available wall power points, and people will feel that you’ve put great effort into their
comfort and needs.
Get Dividers For Breakout Sessions
Use dividers to create intimate Break Out spaces for smaller, in-depth communication with your audience. These break out spaces allow better engagement with a group, and promote two-way communication rather than just one person presenting to an audience. By promoting interactivity and energetic spaces, you’ll create memorable learning experiences that stick with your audience for much longer.
Get It In an Email
Perhaps the biggest tip for meetings with millennials: don’t force people to sit through a meeting that can be adequately surmised in an email. Nobody appreciates being forced to sit through a presentation, event, or meeting that’s 90% fluff and little actual content. Before scheduling a meeting, always ask yourself: do you really need to sit everyone down, or can you just send it in an email? Your workers will love you for it.
