How to Create Radically Welcoming Experiences

HOW TO CREATE RADICALLY
WELCOMING EXPERIENCES
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©2018 MEETING PROFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MPIWEB.ORG/JOIN
Kristi Casey Sanders, Director of Thought Leadership, Meeting Professionals International
mpiweb.org/join #MPI @KristiCasey

Kristi Casey Sanders, CMP, CMM, DES, HMCC
Director of Thought Leadership
Meeting Professionals International
@KristiCasey
#MPI www.mpiweb.org/join

Imagine you're having a
dinner party.
Who's invited?
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Learner Objectives
1. Evaluate if you're unintentionally
alienating attendees
2. Analyze ways to be more welcoming
3. Create strategy for your upcoming
meetings and events
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To Be Radically Welcoming
1. Know stakeholders' objectives for
meeting
2. Understand your group's needs and
demographics
3. Align meeting design, logistics &
messaging to the above
4. Take a walk in someone else's shoes
5. If in doubt, ask & be transparent
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Who are we alienating?
Who's on stage & in your marketing materials?

Think about
• Fishing outside your pool of usual
suspects
• Ask your audience for suggestions
• Do some research (writers, industry
leaders, outside professionals)

Are you telling people you don't care if they come?
cc: Jamie McCaffrey - https://www.flickr.com/photos/15609463@N03

Think about
• Avoiding major religious holidays
• Serving kosher/hallal foods (or vegan)
• Taking breaks around prayer times
• Serving food at different times during
Ramadan
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Are we enabling cliquish behavior?
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Think about
• Pairing newbies with veterans
• Creating buyer-seller interactions that are
more casual and friendly and less
transactional
• Incorporating icebreakers and group work
into educational sessions
• Mixing people up in intentional ways
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Are we taking care of our introverts?
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Think about
• Leaving unstructured time for people to
think about what they've learned
• Incorporate reflection time in educational
sessions
• Offer tools that allow for anonymous
interactivity/polls/question submission
• Have a quiet room or multiple lounges
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Are we humans first or our gender?
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Think about
• Not asking for gender-specific
information on registration forms
• If gender information is required,
consider asking what prounouns
attendees would prefer be used to
describe them or letting people choose
multiple options
• Offer gender-neutral bathrooms
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Are you thinking about the differently abled?
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Think about
• Asking about challenges during registration
• Conducting site inspections as if you had that
physical challenge
• How ramp and shuttle access locations might
separate your attendees from friends
• Don't skimp on your AV spend
• Allow companions
• If in doubt, ask how to handle
• Consider offering an onsite concierge
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Can we create safe spaces to debate & discuss ideas?
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Think about
• Laying ground rules for how to discuss
sensitive topics
• Encourage respect for all points of view
• Create opportunities for structured and
unstructured discussions of topics
attendees care about
• Creating a "free speech" zone
• Remind people it's OK to disagree
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Are you taking people's comfort into consideration?
cc: Travelin' Librarian - https://www.flickr.com/photos/45082883@N00

Think about
• Not playing just one type of music or
booking one type of entertainment
• Balance what's trendy with what's
comfortable
• Mix up seating and offerings to appeal to
multiple demographics
• Use pre-event survey or registration data to
gather likes/dislikes in order to create
custom experiences
• Offer a technology concierge
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Are you taking care of their health needs?
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Think about
• Collecting allergy and medical info
• Eliminating allergens from menus
• Communicating meal delivery strategy to
banquet servers AND attendees
• Creating alcohol-free receptions
• Distributing menus in advance and listing
ingredients for all items
• Offering more vegetarian/vegan meals
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What else?
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What else?

What will you start doing
differently at your events?
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How to Create Radically Welcoming Experiences

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