Small Meetings Are The New Normal

The days of packing 100 people into a room that should hold 50 are probably over. It was probably never a good idea, despite the current troubles. Larger groups of people tend to reduce the attention span of the attendee. There are far too many interruptions and distractions when that many people are gathered, it’s human nature. The leader or teacher of the group is also faced with a plethora of questions and comments from so many attendees. Small meetings are just the start, we are also questioning the future of large conventions and events. Will packed football and baseball stadiums be the next to see an end? What of the 5000 attendee Expo or Corporate Conference. It is hard to envision any large festivals or events anytime in the near future. However, humans are creative and resourceful so it will not be a permanent end to large gatherings. In the meantime, we will all need to adjust.

Small Is Better

Small meetings and training groups are often more effective for the presenter and attendee. More attention can be given to individuals and there are generally fewer disruptions as well. With that said, what if you have a group of 100 employees who need retraining? Perhaps you have a new product or service and you need to expose it to as many people as possible? New ways of spreading information and bringing people together will be needed. How do you build teamwork when you can’t assemble the team in one place? It is time for all companies, organizations, and groups to look to the new future of small meetings and events. No one wants to be the start of a new pandemic. Thankfully there are already options out there and it just takes a change in mindset.

Meeting Together While Apart

The first step in the new meeting landscape is to limit how many attendees you will have. It’s not going to be easy, but if you have 50 people to train, you will need multiple sessions. If you want to get the word out to 200 people, perhaps video conferencing will be the solution. That approach has limitations also. The key may be to make your events shorter. If you used to do retraining for 50 people over 8 hours, you may need to decide how to train 25 in four hours, in that way the same 8-hour venue rental will still be enough and it won’t cost more than it used to. [tweet_box design=”default” float=”right” width=”40%”]Small meetings are the new normal. It is time for all companies, organizations, and groups to look to the new future of small meetings and events. [/tweet_box]

Expanding the distance between attendees is an obvious choice. When you used to pack three to a table, you can reduce it to two. Ensuring your favorite venue is disinfected on a regular basis and perhaps look for spaces that have hand sanitizer dispensers installed. Handwashing facilities and multiple restroom availability are other areas to consider when renting a space. Times are changing and in ways, many can’t fathom. Business will go on however and we will all adapt.

The Beacon Center Is Here To Help

We are already looking to the future. The Beacon Center is ideally suited for those small meetings and events. Our venue has multiple restrooms, we installed hand sanitizer dispensers and even upgraded our cleaning chemicals. We have the flexibility to host 5 people or 50 and still maintain distancing recommendations. We have one entrance so you can literally have a person screen attendees as they enter the facility. While that seems foreign now, in the future it may be a great comfort to other attendees. As times change and new normals are established, The Beacon Center will adapt also. We are owner-operated and take great pride in the cleanliness of our facility, rest assured that dedication will not waver. We look forward to seeing you soon