One of the pleasures – and challenges – of the meeting industry is that it’s an ever-changing playing field. There are constantly new technologies, innovative new suppliers and changing destination trends, as well as political and economic world events that shape the global landscape. At Covington, we are dedicated to staying abreast of best practices so we can be your go-to resource for Business Travel Management, Meetings & Events and Vacation Travel. We do this through continuing education in our fields of specialty and networking with our peers and vendors.

To this end, Christi Ruddy, CMP, one of the Covington Meetings & Events (CM&E) Certified Meeting Professionals, just returned from IMEX America, a worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. Christi went with a multi-purpose agenda:

• Research meeting technology vendors to learn more about technology trends in meetings and events and to assess the capabilities of various companies.
• Meet and form relationships with industry partners such as Destination Management Companies (on site experts), tourist offices, and hotel representatives from around the globe.
• Attend education sessions designed to address specific elements of creating successful incentives, meetings and events.

She came back well-informed, well-connected and energized!

Two Best Practices for Meetings

Return on Attention – For years, corporate meeting organizers have been focused on Return on Investment (ROI). Today, the industry is adding awareness and measurement of ROA – Return on Attention. Today’s meetings need to to elicit participation, not merely attendance. The goal is to keep people engaged in the content so that they understand the relevance and get real value from the presentation. Will they get actionable takeaways? Does the meeting format encourage peer networking and relationship building?

To achieve a successful ROA you must have engaging speakers. People attend face-to-face meetings to learn what they can’t at their desk or from the internet, so it’s critical that the program engages the audience. Speakers need to hook each person in the room within the first 5 – 10 minutes with an outline of why their message will be meaningful to get them involved. (Note previous point about participation versus attendance.)

If the leader can tailor the message ad lib, they might poll the participants on what they hope to learn and let the session follow that path, giving the participants input. Other interactive techniques that can be deployed include orchestrating group activities and fielding questions. Individuals learn in different ways, so offering multiple methods of interaction increases the engagement for a win/win event.

Christi participated in the IMEX America conference to enhance her expertise, so she and the rest of the CM&E team can continue to provide innovative and creative arrangements for successful incentives, meetings and events. To find out more about how CM&E can help with your next meeting, contact Christi at christir@covtrav.com or call CM&E at 804-747-4197.