Make Meeting Magic!

“We’re going to Disneyland!” From the moment you purchase the tickets, you enter Walt Disney’s world of magic. You immediately receive communications designed to build your anticipation and excitement. When you finally arrive at the park, everything is planned and executed “to the T”—the smells, the visuals, the sounds, and the interactions with every single employee. It’s a completely immersive experience, deliberately designed to move people into a different headspace where everything is wonderful, different, and stimulating.

When bringing people together, how can we as Change Management Practitioners replicate this type of experience in the corporate environment? Rather than simply filling up an agenda with updates and tasks, how do we build connection and culture through a truly transformative event? Just like at Disney, it begins from very first touchpoint with your stakeholders.

We can create magical sensory-stimulating events by tapping into the five senses…

“We’re having a strategic planning session!” But this time is different. From the very first communication you notice the event’s visual identity, a collection of visual elements—colors, symbols, fonts and other imagery, that introduced in the initial announcement sent to meeting attendees. The tone of the invitation and the communication of expected outcomes sets the stage for how people show up and the openness they demonstrate to behave either in old or novel ways.

Imagine that when people arrive at the event, they see visually-stimulating signage and images on large screens making it clear that this is no ordinary meeting. Upon check-in, meeting attendees receive a branded water bottle, notebook, or pen. Everything that attendees interact with is branded to help create a comprehensive meeting experience— presentations, templates, swag, and more. Maybe there’s something that smells good in the air and music playing when people arrive or go on breaks. The agenda is configured in a way that prioritizes connection, fun, and other culture-building activities. Leadership is accessible and taking part in all the activities. Content heavy topics are delivered in collaborative and kinetic ways taking people off their seats and engaging their creativity in ways they usually don’t. When was the last time you attended a meeting like this?

Marcos Goldstein, owner of FosterWe, and his team frequently hosts events like this. Fully immersive, sensory experiences that include graphic scribes for visual note-taking, music, and kinetic team-building activities. The events are often so transformative and impactful that the branding, outcomes, and nomenclature live on years after the sessions.  

When Organizational Change Management consultants are intentional about tapping into their stakeholders’ five senses in creating an experience, it can stick with attendees for weeks, months, or years to come.

How can you make this happen?

Sight

• Establish a visual identity and brand for the session

• Incorporate the visual identity into all communications

• Greet participants with imagery on signs and screens

• Capture the meeting graphically with real-time scribes

Hearing

• Play music upon arrival, during breaks, and to signal transitions

• Use music that’s been co-created by attendees! In the initial communication, survey participants, “What song do you play when dancing by yourself in the kitchen?”

• During the event breaks or transitions, attendees can enjoy hearing the song that they chose and have moments of laughter and levity while trying to guess who chose the song that’s playing.

• Use music to set the tone depending on the outcome you are expecting from them (for example, energy, concentration, collaboration)

Touch

• Provide participants with branded items, such as a water bottle, notebook, or pen (who doesn’t love freebies?!)

• Meeting rooms are cold—can you make blankets available?

• Fidget spinners, Rubik’s cubes, or puzzles can help your audience concentrate and channel some of the energy that would otherwise distract them

Smell

• Have you noticed that every hotel in Las Vegas has a signature smell? Can your meeting?

• What about enticing people with alluring smells—like fresh-baked cookies

• Flowers on tables are dual purpose—but watch for allergens

Taste

• Do not skim on the food. People will remember the quality of the meals you serve them.

• Have plenty of snacks available (like those yummy fresh-baked cookies!)

• Pro Tip: You can make branded M&Ms at very reasonable costs

Whether the goal of your meeting is connectivity, conflict resolution, or a team kick off, Change Practitioners should ensure that everything looks and feels different than regular meetings. This will allow for a transformational meeting experience for stakeholders. Weaving the visual identity throughout everything that people see, hear, touch, smell, and taste will keep people informed and engaged. Being intentional about engaging all five senses will create a magical meeting experience!

Contact ChangeStaffing for support with creating epic meeting experiences to capture the attention of your stakeholders!   

A very special thank you to Marcos Goldstein for his thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.  

Written by Kylette Harrison