Imagine that you arrive at a dinner party. The front door is wide open, but there is no one to greet you. When you sit down at the dinner table, there are polite nods from some of the other guests, but others don’t look at you at all. Even your host – he’s standing with his back turned as he’s super busy getting ready. This is how many large meetings begin, from the participants’ point of view.

Hospitality

Think of your next meeting as a dinner party. Even though you have more people in your organization, it’s still good to decide in advance who will be in charge of welcoming the guests. Maybe it’s you as project manager or the executive/chairman, or perhaps the entire sales team? Either way, hosting is about being out there: Welcome guests at the entrance, shake hands, talk to people, and be present. Once the official programme starts, the moderator will also have a vital role in hosting by setting the pleasant and informal tone of your meeting.

Atmosphere

While planning a meeting, the atmosphere is often a somewhat overlooked aspect. But it’s actually something we should consciously work on because it has enormous, essential power – when we feel good, we are more relaxed. And it’s in this state of emotional well-being where meeting magic happens! Because this is where we are more likely to become receptive and open to new ideas. When the atmosphere is good, meeting new people and trying out some new experiments becomes surprisingly easy. After all, it’s the experiences that create higher value for the participants.

Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is an excellent term to use to highlight this last but not least point. Do you want to see your participants leave feeling noticed and affirmed? In danish, we call it mestringsfølelse: I am capable, and I can handle all the future challenges.

So go on and meet people at your meeting. You’ll all get more out of it