Here at the Atlantic Hotel Newquay, we see a whole host of business guests and events pass through our doors. We have such large event rooms, we’re a popular choice for business meetings and we thought we’d share our top five tips for a great event!
Ensure all of your Objectives are Clear
There’s a reason you’re holding a meeting, but make sure that you and your colleagues have a clear sense in which direction the summit is going. Consider these questions before your meeting: What do you wish to accomplish? Are you asking for opinions to improve or to overcome an obstacle? Are you notifying colleagues on a change in the system or to management?
Set a Time Limit or Create a Schedule
There’s nothing worse than a meeting taking far longer than it should and watching inspiration fade away. That’s why it’s a good idea to make an agenda that will lay out all the points you wish to discuss in the meeting in a timeline which guides you through time allowances for each topic.
Take Control
One of the worst things that can happen in a meeting is to have a participant that monopolises the conversation. There are various ways around this, but one recommendation is to politely suggest that although their contributions are appreciated, there needs to be input from other members of the group before a decision can be made. This assertiveness will help to establish some ground rules and help the meeting to run smoothly.
Make a No-Technology Rule
If people are allowed to bring phones, laptops and tablets into a meeting the chances are they’ll be half-listening while they check emails or surf the web. If you want the full attention of everybody in the room, try banning phones etc. and make sure your presentation or discussion is captivating.
Follow Up to Keep Things Clear
Do you ever come away from a meeting and feel slightly fuzzy about what was discussed? Or perhaps a few days later the details have started to fade away, leaving you with just a sense of what was agreed? It’s quite a common occurrence for people to have a different idea of what was agreed in a meeting following the event. To ensure everyone’s on the same page and that there’s no confusion, send an email to follow up and outline what was accomplished and who’s responsible to undertake what task and in what time frame. Try and do this within 24 hours after you’ve had the meeting to make sure everyone’s fresh and to save any additional confusion.
We know we said Five Reasons…
Our sixth reason, we think is very important—hold your business event at Atlantic Hotel! We’re surrounded by 10 acres of rugged headland making us a beautiful place to inspire and motivate and we have specialist event coordinators to help you plan the meeting or conference. We have floor to ceiling windows with gorgeous views and can arrange for team building events for after your meeting too, like golf, surfing and coasteering. You’ll be able to enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi and can have a buffet or a luxury dining experience in our Silks Bistro. The size of your meeting is no object; we can accommodate anything from an intimate meeting of two to a large-scale conference of 500! Not only this, but we’ll greet you with a warm smile and help you to make your meeting personal to your company in any way possible. Call 01637 872244 for more information.
