Sharon Fisher, CEO of Play With a Purpose, on how to intertwine networking, learning and play for results-driven meetings.
How can planners make learning more engaging to achieve results-driven meetings? At a recent Prevue webinar moderated by Prevue Editor Barbara Scofidio, Sharon Fisher, CEO and Chief Idea Sparker of Play With a Purpose, shared tips on just that. The synergy of networking, play and experiential learning, she said, is a powerful tool for creating memorable experiences and meeting ROI.
There’s a big difference between a traditional education conference and a learner focused education conference, said Fisher. Experiential learning, she explained, is not about a speaker presenting content. Rather, it’s about problem solving and focusing on attendees, with the goal of creating collaborations and connections.
Among Fisher’s insights:
•Until now, most meetings have been about presenting content in one place and networking in another place. Instead, the educational content can become engaging and memorable through attendee interaction and networking.
•After the past two years of doing things very differently, there are no longer preconceived notions of what a meeting in 2022 and beyond is going to look like. As people come back to events and look forward to being together, it’s an opportunity to bring meetings to life with hands-on learning experiences that make a tremendous impact and that attendees will remember.
•It’s always a bit uncomfortable to do something new. Planners should expect that it won’t be easy to make learning experiential. It’s important to create an event strategy that defines the key messages you want attendees to walk away with, how you want them to feel, and what actions during the meeting or next steps at home you want them to take.
•People will only pay attention for 4 minutes in a virtual meeting and 7 minutes in a face-to-face meeting. Learning through doing keeps attendees engaged. It can involve storytelling, innovation, brainstorming and play. Fun interactive games, or something as simple as changing the meeting room setup into something unexpected, can bring learning alive.
•Learning excursions that take the group outside the meeting rooms to a different environment, with a teacher not from the group, can also be very effective in engaging attendees.
For more tips on experiential learning, go to The Secret to Blending Learning and Networking to download the webinar.
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