By ALICIA WALLACE

Conferences, workshops, retreats, and meetings are taking place every day, bringing people together to learn, explore, and produce. Organisers often focus on the content and branding of these events, expecting everything else to take care of itself. The venue, agenda, and refreshments are not the only components of a well-planned, successful meeting. It is the organiser’s responsibility to ensure that participants are comfortable and able to contribute in respectful, productive ways.

Here are eight actions that can help to create a productive environment for interactive meetings:

1. Prepare participants for the environment. When planning an event, it is easy to see all of the details as obvious after working with them for so long, or even as unimportant to participants when it is assumed that everything has been taken care of for them. Still, they need to know what to expect in order to prepare adequately. It is not enough to share the name and location of the venue, for example, or to share the agenda with top-line items. People need to know more than the basics for various reasons. Where is parking, and is there a fee? Even if it is reimbursable, people to need know that they need cash or a card. How long is the walk from the parking lot to the front door, and is there a path for mobility devices? How can they find the meeting room, especially in a large venue with many rooms and different events taking place? Will other languages be accommodated? If so, how? What are the accessibility features of the space?

2. Welcome participants with enthusiasm. People should be greeted as soon as possible, and by people equipped with full information about the event. From the moment a participant arrives, they should know where they are going without having to look around or find a venue staff member to ask. Organisers and volunteers should be easily identifiable—achievable with a colour, shirt design, lanyard, or sign—and near the entrance, ready to welcome participants and direct them to the registration desk or the meeting room. These team members need to remember that they are the first impression of the day. They set the tone.

3. Place clear signage in key locations. As much as people are forced to ask for more information, most people do not want to have to ask questions to get the information they need. Sometimes participants would rather not say exactly what they need or have to wait for an organizer or volunteer to be available in order to get information. Position signs along the most direct route from the entrance to the meeting room. Ensure that there is clear signage from the meeting room to the restrooms. If there is a water bottle refilling station, a health aide, a refreshments table, or other equipment and items that people will likely need to access, post signs and, where possible, include event branding so it is clear that these are for use by participants.

4. Set the tone for respectful, productive engagement. Every participant has their own values as well as their own opinions. There is not enough time or space for all of them to be expressed at the event, and they will certainly not all be aligned. It is the role of the organisers to shape the space in a way that allows for differences while prioritising the wellbeing of those in the room which includes their ability to safely participate. This can be done by identifying shared values and/or setting community agreements which can help to guide participants’ delivery of their perspectives and ideas.

5. Train team members for their roles and at least one additional role. Even the basic roles require training, not necessarily on the functions, but on the delivery of the service. A participant’s perception of an event is shaped by all of the small interactions they have with team members before they enter the meeting room and after they leave. When participants check in for the event, they are typically giving their names and getting a name badge. What can you add to this experience? How can you make any of the small annoyances, like a line to get to the table, less noticeable? While there may be two people at the registration desk, there could be a cross-trained person engaging people on the line, giving them event swag, offering water or juice, and letting them know what they need to have ready when they get to the front of the line so that it moves quickly. If someone is ill or needs to step away for some other reason, a team member can easily fill in because they know another job as well as they know their own. Hospitality, at an event, is everyone’s duty, so all team members should be ready to welcome, answer questions, apologize for inconveniences, resolve issues, and escalate matters as needed.

6. Identify team members to respond to emergencies. The people who hold microphones and handle registration all day are not the best people to handle emergencies. This role needs people who are readily available and do not need to be in particular place at any particular time to do anything. They need to know the staff at the venue and how to reach them quickly. They need to know the location of the nearest medical facility and the easiest, fastest way to transport participants. This person, ideally, can drive and has access to a vehicle on event days. They have enough money to quickly make purchases, whether there is a sudden need for a printer on site or someone needs to get a bag of ice.

7. Develop a care plan for the team. Working on the organizing and logistics teams for events can be demanding and exhausting. It is easy to fall into a pattern of working very long days without breaks as events and their participants can be demanding. It is important to remember that the people working at events are people, and they need specific forms of care. Organizers need to ensure that there are people on the team whose sole responsibility is taking care of the team. They check in with team members at their stations, let them know when it is time for their breaks, keep their water bottles filled, bring them refreshments, and relieve them when they need unscheduled breaks. They ask team members how they are doing, providing a listening ear when there is frustration, and work to solve problems while team members are at their stations. Every single person on the team, including the moderator, needs breaks. At least one of these breaks each day should be outside of the event space and without interruption by anyone on the team. A team that is well taken care of can extend a higher level a care to others and end the event in good health.

8. Be prepared for conflict. As much as we hope for events and the discussion taking place to go smoothly, there is always the possibility of conflict. Even in a room of peers, there can be disagreements that occur in ways that are disruptive. Many people have tremendous difficult disagreeing with others in respectful, non-violent ways. It is important to be able to interrupt unproductive commentary and, in particularly, hateful messaging. This does not just require bringing the exchange to an end, but making strong statements that emphasize the stated values of the convening and the rules of engagement to minimise harm and reset the conversation. There should be at least one team member who is prepare to deescalate and mediate.