Just when we’ve gotten the hang of online meetings and online events, now we’re being asked to add another new beast to the mix. That beast being hybrid events and hybrid meetings.
A hybrid event/meeting is one where some participants are in a virtual room (such as MS Teams or Zoom) and some are in a physical room, in real life. This can make for feeling left out (when the focus is only on folks in the ‘real’ room), bored and confused. It can also add a huge number of technical challenges and more.
The technical challenges can include hearing too much, like ear-shattering audio feedback, or not enough. How many times have you heard “Amrita, you’re muted – you need to turn on your mic!”?
Hybrid can make the confidence level of even the most assured folks plummet deeper than the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. And quickly.
Our best-laid hybrid plans and preparations can quickly go sideways. Layered on top of folks feeling generally overwhelmed and exhausted, it’s a perfect storm for cranky, aggravated people. And very unproductive meetings/events.
Hold onto your hankies, “a hybrid event model, combining the rich experiences of an in-person event with the reach and convenience of a virtual event, is emerging as the new programming standard” (HBR).
“Almost 50% of corporate event attendees consider hybrid events the ideal format for the future, compared to exclusively in-person or virtual-only events, according to Metrigy Research. Businesses are embracing this new reality. In 2021, 64% of businesses say they’re increasing their virtual events, and 58% say they’re planning for a mix of virtual and in-person events” (HBR).
But how pray-tell, do we get there?
Please note the dates and times alternate each month so as to reach more people in various time zones at their request.
Click here to double-check your timezone as it can sometimes change due to daylight savings times (be sure to compare your timezone to 5 pm EAT/Nairobi).
Join the mailing list to receive invitations to the monthly meetings, and get access to all the meeting resources (including time-stamped recordings in case you can’t make it in real-time). And don’t forget to RSVP for this roundtable by April 19th.