Hybrid meetings are here to stay. While hybrid meetings (or meetings with a mix of virtual and in-person audiences) have been happening for years for many annual large-scale meetings, smaller meetings (100 – 1,000-person range) really haven’t needed to. That is until recently when the entire event industry (and let’s be honest, the world) got flipped on its head by the COVID pandemic. As we slowly make our way back to in-person meetings, even the smaller scale meetings are finding they must take a hybrid approach to give their attendees the options they have become accustomed to. Hybrid platforms, tools, and guides are being built overnight and there are a plethora of new options to choose from, but where do you begin?
When studying for my CMP, there were brief mentions of hybrid meetings, but the overwhelming majority of the education was on in-person meetings. I had not had the opportunity to work on a hybrid meeting before COVID to gain personal experience. As groups are moving back to in-person events, we have clients asking how to add hybrid options to all kinds of meetings so I had to dive into all the education I could find on hybrid meetings. The Event Leadership Institute is an excellent resource for all aspects of meeting planning. They have created new programming throughout the pandemic to educate meeting professionals in the evolving environment we are working in. I took their Virtual Event and Meeting Management course which was an excellent deep dive into the virtual world as well as their Technical Meeting and Event Production course which covers Audio/Visual elements in greater detail with dedicated sessions on hybrid meetings. Then I learned the old-fashioned way by jumping in and giving it a try to see what actually works. In a very short amount of time, we have gained a lot of knowledge to help clients develop hybrid options.
Here is a little bit of what we have learned along the way:
Audio is King
We have heard for years that content is king, but in the hybrid world, audio is king! If a virtual speaker’s video isn’t working, they can still give their presentation with their camera off. If they can’t share their slides, the technician can share for them. However, if you can’t hear the speaker either in the room or online, the session is dead in the water. There are many factors that play into getting audio correct such as: connections for live streaming the session; recording software set up correctly to play the session later; the speaker being in-person or coming in virtually; how the virtual audience will be integrated into the Q&A portion; and so much more. Become great friends with you’re A/V technicians that will be in the room with you so you can troubleshoot issues together and ensure you get the best audio possible!
In November we worked on a conference where several speakers were quarantined right before the conference and had to give their presentations virtually. In theory, we had all the equipment set up so they could easily present virtually. On the first day, we worked with the A/V crew to plug everything in as we were planning, however one of our speakers could not hear the audio from the room. After troubleshooting with the A/V tech, we were not able to get it fixed. I ended up putting my cell phone on the podium so the speaker could at least hear the person at the podium. Going into our next hybrid event this January, I was hypersensitive to the audio feed for the virtual speakers and bugged the A/V tech several times about how to set it up. He had a new plan and ran the audio differently, so it worked out great! I took pictures of the whole set up to reference the next time we have any issues!
Play to your Audience
You must understand your attendee’s goals to make a hybrid experience successful. What do the virtual and in-person attendees need or want from the experience? How will you incorporate those needs in the room set up, streaming options, agenda scheduling, platform tools, etc. I like all the bells and whistles on a platform for maximum engagement opportunities however maybe your audience prefers to just watch the sessions and be done. If they aren’t going to use all the bells and whistles, there is no sense in paying for unnecessary platform functionality. Is it good enough to have the camera in the back of the room showing the wide-angle view of the speaker and screen or should you bring it up to the front and seat the in-person attendees around the camera so the virtual audience gets a better picture? Dial in the audience needs at the beginning of the planning process and keep it in mind the entire time.
Last summer we helped an association put together their first hybrid event for their annual meeting. Based on past attendees’ in-person priorities, we thought it was important to connect the virtual audience with the sponsors and exhibitors, so we used a platform with virtual booths that included several networking tools. We scheduled specific times for virtual interaction. We had a portion of the sponsors and exhibitors sign up to participate in the virtual networking as well as many virtual attendees. As it turned out, several of the exhibitors didn’t attend the virtual networking because they were busy at their in-person booths with no one else to cover the virtual booth. Even fewer virtual attendees joined the sessions. We learned that their virtual attendees did not have the same priorities as the in-person attendees and were not interested in the virtual networking options. Lesson learned!
Find Great Resources
A hybrid meeting requires expertise in planning in-person and virtual meetings and then putting those two together for the overall event brings in a whole new skillset. In our digital age, there is an abundance of resources to help you, but be selective, so you don’t waste your time on the fluff. Find the hard-hitting, no-nonsense sources that give you just what you need because time is precious in this ever-changing world, we now live in, and you don’t want to waste time reading a blog that promises to give you all you need to know about hybrid meetings, and it turns out to be just a sales pitch for a platform.
Keep Experimenting
There is no cookie cutter approach to hybrid meetings and attendees are eager for something more than the stale Zoom meeting. Take advantage of the constantly evolving technology to surprise and delight your audience with new options, rearranged agendas, or new ways to be engaged. Brainstorm with your colleagues, platform company and A/V team to see what is possible and work together to make it happen. Get out of the box and have some fun!
I sign up for some webinars just to see how they put together the virtual program and to play with new platforms. I have a few platforms that I am itching to use for an event because of their innovative tools and production capabilities. I just haven’t found the right program to use them with yet!
And so…
Almost two years into the pandemic, we still can’t predict what will happen each month. But what we do know is that hybrid meetings are here to stay. The challenge is making them accessible to all types of groups with all types of budgets. We assure you, it can be the best of both virtual and in-person worlds when your hybrid meeting is planned well.
About the author:
Genevieve Kulaski grew-up in Missoula as a true Montana kid, camping all summer and skiing all winter. Wanting to see the world, she took off after high school. She started out exploring Colorado while attending CU Boulder, studied abroad in Russia, and then continued her travels while serving in the Air Force after college graduation. She landed in Washington D.C., but only for a short while, because she met her Montana cowboy who convinced her to move back home. There is truly no place like home! They spent a few years in Bozeman where Genevieve worked as a destination management specialist helping groups explore the beauty and unique experiences the Greater Yellowstone Area has to offer. They are now raising their three kids on the family ranch outside of Philipsburg and Genevieve continues to explore the state for those can’t-miss experiences. Genevieve loves sharing her home state with visitors and putting together one-of-a-kind Montana events that leave everyone with memories to last a lifetime.
Genevieve is a certified meeting planner and has acquired a certificate in virtual event and meeting management. Please feel free to contact her with any questions: gkulaski@meetingsnorthwest.com
