For many, a corporate meeting is a necessary evil. Sometimes unproductive and often boring, many newer businesses want to remove this practice altogether. Perhaps, we’re attacking this problem from the wrong angle.
Instead of removing meetings, why not improve them? People enjoy coming together and working on things that matter and that’s essentially what a meeting is.
In this roundup, we have a few tips on how to make meetings better, as well as ideas on how to make remote working, work for your company. Also, how to expand your business network using apps. Be sure to never miss out on our weekly round up of the latest and greatest in the event industry and subscribe to our blog!
Maximize Your Productivity With These Remote Working Trends
Offering “work from home” opportunities is one of the biggest draws a company can have nowadays. Aside from attracting more applicants, companies with such jobs also gain practical benefits. On top of this wave comes the new trend of coworking and co-living spaces that allow remote working employees to immerse themselves in an environment that suits their work-play-life needs perfectly. And if remote workers are not interested in physically mingling with their kind, there are also public Slack groups that pass around potentially useful ideas. As remote working becomes a staple in several industries, these trends are set to revolutionize it further.
Expand Your Network with These Professional Apps
Networking is one of the most important aspects of growing a business — especially in the events industry. What you know may set you apart, but it’s who you know that will allow you to get the best of both clients and resources. Thankfully, technology makes networking easier. Case in point are these new apps that can connect people in a snap. Shapr, for example, connects like-minded pros through their LinkedIn accounts, in a Tinder-like experience. There’s Bizzabo for conferences and CityHour for when you want to sit down over coffee. There’s 1 Million Cups for group meetings and a couple more apps for managing and finding your contacts! Now all you need to do is smile and get ready to communicate.
The Secret to Engaging Gen Z in Meetings
Interactivity seems to be the secret sauce for everything these days. This is particularly true in making a corporate meeting more appealing and less boring for the restless Generation Z. You can’t expect an event to be successful if you can’t keep them glued to their seats during the keynote, so the art of interactivity is a great thing to learn. But it’s not the only thing on the list. A sense of community is also important to this generation, and they want to know that the brand with the pretty moving images also does something for the community. They want to know what you’re all about, and they want to see you’re good. Learn more about how to keep Gen Z engaged during events and meetings in this useful guide.
Offering 'work from home' opportunities is one of the biggest draws a company can have nowadays. Share on X
US Open Activates Manhattan
Manhattan’s South Street Seaport will host one of the year’s largest experiential activations via the US Open Tennis Championship. A 24,000 square feet area will contain replicas of stadium structures, including a roofed tennis court and the Unisphere. More than physical activation, it also boasts a unique social media campaign. The US Open Draw will be live streaming on Facebook Live and other social channels. Sponsors like Chase and Heineken are also stepping up for the event, promising a turnout that will set the stage for future US Open events.
iOS 11 Brings AR to the Forefront
The biggest augmented reality or AR platform of the very near future may be an unlikely one for many — Apple’s upcoming iOS 11. While there are several innovative new features in the new system, the biggest and most potent by far will be the baked-in inclusion of augmented reality. Imagine leading people to events using real-world anchors captured and recognized by the iPhone camera. No need to rely on GPS devices. Or, imagine equipping booths and banners with more active (and interactive) content via AR. With AR adoption, Apple is pushing the boundaries of what can be done with the technology.
Montreal C2 Conference Reimagines B2B Events
The three-day Montreal C2 remains to be the best template of B2B events as it continues to put the importance of connections at its core. By taking attendees out of their physical and mental comfort zones — including holding brainstorming sessions in chairs suspended at 30 feet above a mirrored surface — they leverage the proportional relationship between risk tolerance and creativity. There are also opportunities to create and get together in unique ways that promise a memorable and productive experience.
Things to Ask Before and After Meetings
A corporate meeting may turn out to be boring sometimes. Nonetheless, these meetings are still important in getting a team on the same page. To maximize each meeting requires an organized approach centered on guide questions that explore both the agenda and the results. Understand the whos and whys of the meeting as well as your role in executing the takeaways. Start learning these guide questions to find success in your next meeting.
Meetings may turn out to be boring sometimes, but they are also crucially important in getting a team on the same page. Share on X
The Best Tools and Apps to Boost Your Social Media Strategies
Social media is now such an important part of business that you have an app for almost any social media task you can think of. If you would like to experiment and try apps that might give you a social media edge, here’s a guide on 24 different tools that can enhance everything from analytics to videos and images. Now all you need is to create awesome content and let these apps do the rest.
Connections: Elon Musk’s Learning Secrets
Connections are not just important in building a booming business. It turns out it’s also important in building knowledge. In a recent Reddit AMA, Elon Musk was asked how he appears to learn so many things so fast. He shared that he perceives knowledge as a sort of a tree. Unless you can understand the main, fundamental concepts (trunk) you cannot move on to the finer details (branches and leaves). In other words, without anything to connect the little concepts you learn, you can’t get a good grasp of a subject. Concepts are best learned when they are anchored or connected to existing knowledge. With this, Elon asserts, one can learn a lot more than what he perceives he can.
Event Industry Council’s 2017 Hall of Leaders Inductees
This August, the Events Industry Council has selected the year’s inductees to the Hall of Leaders. Comprising of the best and most innovative in the field, the three inductees will be officially inaugurated in October’s IMEX America. Check out the profiles and stories of David Peckinpaugh, Patti Roscoe, and Janet Sperstad, and take inspiration from their work!
Sometimes learning new things can be a challenge in our industry. Nobody has the time to go to a lecture somewhere. Event profs don’t even have the time to take courses online. Even so, learning is the edge you’ll need if you want to stay fresh and fit for this industry.
What tips can you give to make learning easy for the on-the-go professional?
