As we have just begun a new year, it seems like a trend (pun intended!) to write about trends, so I thought I would join the choir of preachers who bestows their wisdom upon y’all about how the 2018 of meetings looks in the crystal ball.
And there are trends that are very obvious for the time coming. The three most outspoken – in my opinion – are security (both personal in connection with the GDPR and event security), the change of room setups and implementing immersion.
Security…again!
Yeah, security AGAIN! Because this issue is not going to go away [event safety and security]. Unfortunately, we will only see more and more efforts to keep us all safe, simply because it is necessary. It is unfortunate, but instead of complaining we have to deal with it.
For meetings and events, it means two different things. First of all, the GDPR will take effect from May of 2018. This means that all of us who are dealing with personal information about our attendees will have to step cautiously from here on out as we could receive serious fines for not complying.
Then there is the whole event security thing. Many incidents around the World has shown us that it is crucial to avoid trucks getting too close to or guests bringing unwanted object into the our venue, and it has become an mundane task to make sure we take every and all measure to prevent these tragedies.
Room for thought
The next trend is the shift in meeting room setups. No more theater style or meeting room without daylight. What we need is diverse and flexible seating arrangements in every room so that each participant can choose for himself how to sit during the meeting.
Outside of the meeting room, we are establishing chill zones where our guests can reflect, take time out of their busy schedules and meet leisurely with other participants. We might also create networking zones and activities [coffee or networking] or even spaces for soulworking where silence is welcome.
One thing is for sure: Venues who are only open for selling their meeting rooms white and square and with standard room setups…they will not be here in a few years!
Time to dive in
The last trend that I see in my meetings and events crystal ball is the whole concept of immersion I told you about a couple of weeks ago.
‘Purpose’ will be a word you will hear in close connection with meetings and immersion. Our attendees want to see the purpose clearly of why they are attending a meeting or an event. They want to feel like everything about the meeting was designed just for them, and they want to be engaged during it to feel like they have a reason for being there.
These are the three most important trends I see for 2018, and I am pretty sure you can bet on the fact that I will elaborate on these on the blog in the upcoming year.
Do you have other input to trends for 2018?
