Why do corporate events look the same?

Y𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 too many corporate meetings and events look and feel exactly the same.

Not because the people planning them lack ideas, but the system around them rewards playing it safe. We see three patterns responsible for most of the drama!

1. 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

Fear of perception, protecting reputation, or compliance constraints. A different idea means a different conversation to have. The result: you stick to a legacy approach because the familiar path is the easier route.

2. 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸

Logistics take priority. Then there's often no time to think through other formats. By the time it's clear what the event should actually do, the time to take a new path is gone. Tight budgets add to the challenges.

3. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

More slides, more data, more agenda items. Packed programmes that leave no space for the thing that actually changes minds: connection.

At the RGH Knowledge Exchange in Florence, Mishe Schemann and Jürgen Künkel ran a workshop on engineering impactful meeting experiences, hosted and organised by the Radisson Hotel Group and Mark Handforth - 3Sixty Event Consulting Ltd.

Healthcare planners, organisers, designers, production, and venue experts were all in the room.

Before we could get to the good stuff, like the creative solutions, the formats, the tools, we had to name these three patterns first. Every discipline in the room recognised them. That told us something.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀!

All three are just patterns, not destiny. But shifting them takes a bit of bravery. The right questions asked out loud, the right people in the room, and starting early enough in the process before the format is locked and the budget is spent.