PLENARY Awe-Inspiring Meetings + Workspring Active Learning and Work Space
ROOM SET
Work It
You could easily and correctly argue that PCMA’s Convening Leaders meeting is one never-ending
room set — a living laboratory of
experimental formats and configurations designed to explore
the possibilities of event space. A
particular standout at Convening
Leaders 2016, which was held at
the Vancouver Convention Centre
(VCC) on Jan. 10–13, was the
Workspring Active Learning and
Work Space.
The VCC created the space in
advance of Convening Leaders,
using a prefunction area on the
second level of its stunning West
Building. “We looked at the space
that was underutilized,” Claire
Smith, CMP, the VCC’s vice president of sales and marketing, told
PCMA News, “and asked ourselves
three key questions: “How can we
make it functional? How can we
make it monetizable? How can we
create a better experience for the
delegates who are here?”
The Learning and Work Space
features several distinct sets,
including high-back, café-style
booths, fully wired work stations,
and, down the hall, a semi-private
boardroom steeped in natural
light and offering a spectacular
view of the surrounding waterfront and mountains. During
Convening Leaders, PCMA used
the space as part of its Learning
Lounge, but attendees weren’t shy
about also setting up there during
downtimes to network or catch up
on work. “The furniture and the
layout of the area are all designed
to make attendees feel like they
can accomplish everything they
come to a convention to do,”
Smith said, “without having to
leave the center.” .
UNCONVENTIONAL
What’s Awe Got to Do With It?
Great! Attendees have described your event as “awesome”! While that word is surely overused and its meaning watered own, recent studies indicate that giving attendees truly
awe-inspiring experiences benefits them in numerous ways — and
may, in fact, be the most valuable byproduct of face-to-face events.
The “positive feeling of being in the
presence of something vast that transcends our understanding of the world”
is how Paul Piff, assistant professor of
psychology and social behavior at the
University of California, Irvine, and
Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology
at the University of California, Berkeley,
describe awe. The two researchers have
collaborated on several recent studies
focused on this emotion, and summarized their results in a New York Times
article ( convn.org/awe-nyt-piff ). Their
conclusion: Experiencing “awe helps
bind us to others, motivating us to act
in collaborative ways that enable strong
groups and cohesive communities.”
Sounds like what conferences seek to
facilitate, no?
How might Piff and Keltner’s
extrapolations underpin some common meetings-industry practices with
behavioral research and offer deeper
implications for face-to-face events?
We’re glad you asked.
FILLING A VOID Piff and Keltner make
the case that our culture today is awe-deprived, since we spend “more time
working and commuting and less time
outdoors and with other people.” This
suggests that face-to-face events might
take on a more profound role in attendees’ business and social lives than in
the past.
The research team also points to
data indicating that attendance at
arts events — including live music,
theater, museums, and galleries — has
dropped in recent years. So by holding
receptions at special-event venues like
museums, galleries, and theaters, and
by adding short, live performances to
general sessions, meeting organizers
are sprinkling in moments of awe that
more than a few attendees may lack in
their day-to-day lives.
CONNECTING WI TH OUTDOORS
Even the simple act of “looking at trees,
night skies, [and] patterns of wind
on water” can induce goose bumps,
according to Piff and Keltner. All the
more reason to hold networking events
in hotel and convention center spaces
that offer jaw-dropping views of nature
or an impressive cityscape, and to pri-oritize outdoor breaks.
AV LENDS A HAND Subjects in one of
the research duo’s experiments who
watched a five-minute video of nature
scenes instead of participating in other
activities that produced feelings of
pride or amusement were “more coop-
erative, shared more resources, and
sacrificed more for others.”
On a subliminal level, awe-inspiring
on-screen scenes can foster a sense of
community among the audience — and
may even encourage more people to
volunteer for your on-site CSR project.
“In the great balancing act of our social
lives, between the gratification of self-
interest and a concern for others, fleet-
ing experiences of awe redefine the self
in terms of the collective,” the research-
ers said, “and orient our actions toward
the needs of those around us.” .
— Michelle Russell
