from strategy to user experience: meeting design is everything
TRANSCRIPT
From Strategy to User Experience
Design is Everything
Dan Berger | CEO | Social Tables
Let’s agree to the following...
● Questions are welcome any time.
● Engage on social: @danberger #TSE2016
● Take as many photos and share as you please.
● You’re free to leave any time.
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I am a participant.
I am a planner.
I am a believer.
I am a supplier.
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@danberger | #TSE2016
@danberger | #TSE2016
@danberger | #TSE2016
4,000 customers; 100,000 users
100 countries
3 languages: English, Spanish, French
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1 billion sq ft of function space
500,000 events created
63 million attendees impacted
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Here is what we will cover.
● Define meeting design and explain why it’s important to our profession.
● Learn frameworks to evaluate your current programs.
● Apply new design concepts to transform your experiences.
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Stage Setting
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Design tellsa story.
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Design sends a message.
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Design changes behavior.
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“If you don’t think about design,someone will think about design for you.”
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● The meaning of “meeting design” is not agreed upon.
● The term “meeting design” is not widely used.
● There is a lack of popularly accepted frameworks and tools.
The Problem with Meeting Design
MPI report on Meeting Design, 2013
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Experience Design is Everything and Everywhere
● The design of the organization’s overall event strategy.
● The design of your meeting’s theme.
● The design of the attendee journey.
● The design of the program.
● The design of each breakout room.
● The design of each tabletop.
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How do you define meeting design?
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“The purposeful shaping of both the form and the content of a meeting to deliver on crucial business objectives.”MPI report on Meeting Design, 2013
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Manage
Comm.
Plan
Source
Strategize
Data
Mission
TechnologyTech
nolog
yProject
Management
SchedulingTransportation Housing
Surveys
Badges, Check-in, etc
Marketing
Design
Reg Social
Reports
Measure
Logistics
The Meeting Planning Process Pyramid
(c) Social Tables, 2014-2016
Site Selection
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The Opportunity of Meeting Design
“[Meeting design presents] one of the
few opportunities to enable meeting
professionals to do more with less...
to reduce costs and increase value.”
MPI report on Meeting Design, 2013
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The Urgency for Meeting Design
Automation Outsourcing Expectations Competition
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“The meetings manager is now far more than an event planner. She now plays a strategic role in the livelihood of the organization, bolstering its current conferences and other events while finding ways to innovate future ones.
Say hello to the new strategic meetings manager.”
2014
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The Framework
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The Process of Meeting Design
1. Select a stakeholder (e.g. client).2. Translate stakeholder’s needs into objectives (e.g. connection =>
networking)3. Select a phase (e.g. before, during, or after)4. Select a classification and element...
a. Programmatic - Destination, agenda, time...b. Conceptual - Format, room layout...c. Human - Facilitators, entertainers, emcees, speakers...d. Artistic - Color, decor...e. Technical - A/V, staging, furniture...
5. Develop design interventions.
MPI report on Meeting Design, 2013; The Meeting Architect’s Manifesto; Social Tables
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● Need: Reconnect with old friends.
● Objective: Network
● Phase: During
● Classification: Programmatic
● Element: Initial introductions
● Intervention: Place old yearbooks at each table
Example: Attending a wedding as a childhood friend
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simulation
Let’s try it as a group
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Refresh Your Org’s Annual Executive Off-site
1. Select a stakeholder (e.g. client).2. Translate stakeholder’s needs into objectives (e.g. connection =>
networking)3. Select a phase (e.g. before, during, or after)4. Select a classification and element...
a. Programmatic - Destination, agenda, time...b. Conceptual - Format, room layout...c. Human - Facilitators, entertainers, emcees, speakers...d. Artistic - Color, decor...e. Technical - A/V, staging, furniture...
5. Develop design interventions.
MPI report on Meeting Design, 2013; The Meeting Architect’s Manifesto; Social Tables
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The Tools
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1. Identify your stakeholders.
2. Map out their influence and interest.
Sta
keho
lder
Ana
lysi
s
Source: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involvement/identify-stakeholders/main
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1. Identify stakeholder
2. Determine a question you have for that stakeholder. (e.g. why should I sponsor the annual sales conference?)
3. What are they thinking, feeling, saying, doing, hearing? The point is to truly understand and empathize with their situation so you can design.
4. Solicit feedback from others.Empa
thy
Map
ping
Source: Gamestorming
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Pur
pose
Iden
tific
atio
n
Source: Marriott’s Meeting Imagined
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1. Identify attendee persona.
2. Simulate their experience from cradle to grave or survey them.
Extending
Exiting
Engaging
Experiencing
Entering
Arriving
Anticipating
Attracting
AnnouncingJo
urne
y M
appi
ng
Source: The 8 Phases of a Successful Event, Maritz
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Alternatives and Innovation in Room Layouts
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“Room set is extremely important to the success of a meeting, and a serious responsibility for the meeting professional to manage.
- Convention Industry Council Manual
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The Form:The General Session
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The Ideal General Session
Flar
ed A
isle
s
Access Lanes
Long Side Setup
Angled Seats
Curved Rows
45° Aisl
e
Source: Radde, Paul. Seating Matters.
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TED Canada (Vancouver Convention Center)
Vancouver Convention Centre, TED
Custom Stadiums
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The Form:Open Spaces
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The Key Elements of Successful Communication
1. Exploration - Interacting with people in many other social groups.
2. Engagement - Interacting with people within your social group.
3. Energy - Interacting with more people overall.
Source: Workspaces That Move People, Harvard Business Review
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PCMA Convening Leaders 2014 (Navy Pier, Chicago)
Functional Art Installations
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“Spaces designed to promote
communication increase the likelihood of
collisions... more collisions create
positive outcomes.”
C2 Montreal (Arsenal)
Source: Workspaces That Move People, Harvard Business Review
@danberger | #TSE2016Sapphire Now (Orange County Convention Center, Orlando)
The Downtown
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The Form:Trade Shows
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Innovation Zones
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The Campus
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Booths as Art Installations
Freeman booth at IAEE Expo! Expo! 2014
@danberger | #TSE2016American Express Global Business Travel booth at GBTA 2015
Booths as Museum Exhibits
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The Form:The Breakout
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The Old Way:Banquet
The New Way:Family Style
Out-of-the-Box:Extended Banquet Table / Serpentine Banquet
Small Dinners
Summit Outside
Social Tables Company Dinner, Newseum
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School for American Ballet, Winter Ball 2014
The Old Way:Staggered Ballroom
The New Way:Mixed Seating
Large Dinners
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The Old Way:Conference
The Old Way:U-Shape
The New Way:Hollow Rectangle
Board Meetings
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LearningZone
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The Old Way:High Boys
The New Way:Parisian Cafe Style
Cocktail Receptions
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Networking Reception Session
PTTOW Summit -- Plan To Take On The World (Classified)
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Icebreakers
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Workshops
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Breakouts
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Pre-Cons
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3D walkthroughs of innovative designs
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What does the future of meeting design look like?
Aligned incentives for event success between buyers and suppliers
On-site logistics will be handled by machines and robots.
Content will be crowdsourced or auto-generated.
There will be “smart” furniture in meetings and events
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Wrapping up...
@danberger
“If you don’t think about design,someone will think about design for you.”