Do You Believe in Music?

“He who sings prays twice.”
— Augustine

“Funny thing about memory: it has so many layers.”
— L. T. Harriman

The hotel hallway runs the length of the building, conference rooms marching left, right, left, down to the end. Each door is open, awaiting attendees for insurance training, endurance training, medical training, pharmaceutical training, and presentation training. In each room, a flip chart, an easel for a promotional poster, and a big screen with a projector. Each is sterile as only hotel conference rooms can be, spotless and identical in their sameness.

But, as you move down the hallway, searching for your destination, music emerges from one room. Jazz I think, softly reaching for your attention, “Come take a look! Something special is going on in here…” And that’s just one of the secrets to creating an atmosphere that is conducive to learning.

It is oddly interesting, that in this time of earbuds, Bluetooth and ubiquitous music, that so little of it has penetrated the corporate conference facility. That business meetings have remained for the most part such lackluster, last minute, short-term undertakings.

OK, the National Meeting is a Big Deal, and there are entire companies that stage-manage and conduct the large scale conference. (Usually after the internal planning team comes up against the fact that this is a larger event than they usually tackle…) But if the big event was scheduled without a program, without music, without a dinner, without a fun event, without a big screen, without a take home package, you’d deem it a thin experience… Wouldn’t you?

But that’s not our issue here. We suggest that the same broad standard of expectation should apply to every meeting.

You have in your pocket an entire music library! With the tap of an icon, you can create a musical theme for your six person gathering in Conference Room A at 3:00 pm… Why don’t you?

The opposition: “Why don’t we just talk?”

Sure. Minimalism. We get it. And there’s an argument to be made for “not overdoing the meeting thing.” Can it be simpler? Can it be smoother? Can it be more straightforward? Can it be clearer? All reasonable questions…

But here’s the real issue: Can it be more effective?

There’s no law saying a presentation has to be organized or structured, but it helps people understand, recall and repeat what you’re saying.

There’s no law saying there has to be some form of visual aid, but it helps people come at the information from another point of view… And that helps comprehension, recall and repeatability.

There’s no law saying there has to be a spatial aspect or an auditory aspect to a meeting, but both add to the uniqueness and memorability of the presentation because there are more points of contact to reference the material. (Memory has a lot of layers….)

Make no mistake, a business meeting is not mere entertainment. Yet there are aspects of meetings that can benefit from some of the same techniques entertainers use to heighten audience engagement in their undertakings. Meetings are not for fun, but if they are fun, they can be better. If they engage, rather than repel, they can be more effective, more easily recalled, and more likely to be fully attended.

You’ve been in that conference center hallway…
If it were your call, which room would you choose?

Applications

1. For You
It’s a Trademark: “I do Great Meetings!” And it can be yours!

• Anywhere people see you, they should see you as if your Appearance and The Appearance had been carefully planned!
• Maybe it’s a hand lettered chart… (Learn! It’s an aspect of being civilized…)
• Maybe it’s a printed agenda for each attendee… (You’ve got 200 fonts… Live a little!)
• Maybe you bring food… (Ahh!)
• Maybe you re-set the room… (And with it, everyone’s expectations!)

2. For the Family
What if, from time to time, the family dinner included “background music,” candles and a careful table setting? (No Electronics zone!)

What if you called “A Family Meeting” from time to time and ran it like an actual serious meeting? (But a good one…) Celebrating grades, recitals, new projects or promotions can be a more special shared experience.

3. For Work
I know, “Meetings indicate the decline and fall of civilization!!!”

But they don’t have to be the lowest common denominator experiences. And those who make them special, become special in their own right!

Apply one or more of the above, and add a little shine to your office cred!

It’s simple! How well do you stand out on that walk down the conference center hallway?

Do you believe in music?

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