As a student of fine arts, I’ve been subjected to numerous stylistic lessons on drawing, painting and design. From the basic principles of color to aesthetics of element layouts, I’ve been engrained with ideas to enhance pleasure to the eye. Beyond that, artistic expression, boundaries and interpretation are all defined by its creator and how it’s best served to deliver its message to the viewer.

Despite freedom beyond extraordinary limitations, most of us are still boxed in by tradition and habitual conformity. In one particular exercise, our classroom was given an assignment to produce an outdoor landscape, consisting of fields, grasses and trees. Regardless of artistic talent, regardless of instructional enlightenment and regardless of that expressive freedom, a vast majority of students struggled to articulate beyond the idea that grass was to be depicted by skewed lines, trees were to be depicted by a morphed set of circles and sun light was a shape.

Creating an optimal environment for receiving information must first come with a deconstruction and rebuilding of our own principles and habits for what our audiences need. Despite an increasing palette of tools from which to create this channel, we often design around a vanilla box of standards that our habits have allowed us to fall in love with. It’s time to kill habit and blow up that vanilla box. It’s time to represent our grasses as dancing strokes in wind, illustrate trees as a silhouettes of color and sun light as an array of warmth and shade.

Instead of strictly focusing on the message, the channel for delivery is most critical and its design is what will be the ultimate successor. And in order to properly design this channel, we must identify the medium and palette of tools for which our audiences will be receptive. As a sponge for information, I know that not everything that I see, hear, taste, smell or touch will be retained. However, I know that if that channel or environment has entrenched a memory, the message is likely to endure as well.

Identifying your palette is predicated on your message and your audience. Picasso painted “The Old Guitarist” after the death of a close friend and much of his emotion is expressed through the palette in which he used. That message would be muddied had the painting been a watercolor with bright, warm colors. Understand you message, destroy the habitual, traditional palette of delivery and design a new one that better suits your evolving audience.

I’m a big fan of step taking as a metaphor for building success. I’m also a believer that one way to take steps is to envision yourself at the top and take those steps backward. A new friend of mine, Lisa Petrilli, recently wrote about the importance of identifying your vision before you start building. Instead of starting at the beginning and succumbing to the vanilla box, identify what success looks like in your meeting or exhibit space. What does a satisfied attendee look like? What have they taken away? This is not to be defined by comment cards or surveys…this is your message, idealistic and received effectively and pure. Defining this success is the first step, followed by the backward steps. And with each of those, identify the palette of tools that make it possible.

Yield to the cultured routines for developing your canvas of learning. Put habits inside your vanilla box…then burn it to the ground.

(image by Tony the Misfit via Flickr Creative Commons License)

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd International Association of Conference Centers session. The topic surrounding the event was “Incorporating Advancing Technology into the Meeting Experience.” The eight panel group included individuals ranging from meeting space planners, learning experts and technology professionals.

The discussions included an analysis of audiences, creating optimal meeting environments, social media integration and providing proper infrastructure for technology. But my biggest takeaway came from Andrea Sullivan, president of BrainStrength Systems, Inc. She illustrates that younger audiences are no longer learning in a similar parallel to generations before. With a focus on collaboration, this generation is bringing new tools for engagement, communication and education into the business world. Not only is the backdrop of events and meetings changing, the entire business landscape is as well.

With evolving technology, social tools and fresh learning behaviors, there is an increasing disconnect between existing generations and this new generation. This chasm will only continue to grow as this younger generation blends with these existing individuals.

“People don’t learn well when they don’t feel safe,” says Sullivan. As we continue to embrace technology to enhance the meeting space, how are we to implement tools and strategies that don’t alienate older audiences not incorporating these tools without distancing the younger groups who rely on them for development?

The unfortunate reality for event planners is that they are no longer tasked simply with creating an environment. Four walls, a podium and Power Point doesn’t work anymore. The value of your message is measured by audience retention, and retention is dictated by the methods, tools and the experience that surrounds it.

Education

Your audiences, by definition, are there too be educated, entertained and/or socialize. Your implementation takes planning and strategy beyond the event; creating backchannels, virtual audience awareness, etc. Use these as opportunities to show how they are used and give older audiences multiple situations to develop an understanding. Event if utilization comes secondary to existing learning tools, their apprehensions will subside and keep from being obstacle to prevent learning.

Unification

Give younger audiences systematic tools that may seem basic, but may not be familiar to their modern structure of learning. Most of them understand digital tools, but are they familiar with analog tools?

As described by Mark T. Grein, Senior V.P. & Chief Experience Officer, Steelcase, Inc., “Analog tools offer persistence of information and strengthening of ideas.” Create an environment that provides a platform of unified learning channels.

Participation

Face to face meetings are quite simply enhanced by its very nature. While education and messaging is a standard, encourage audience participation that yields no boundaries. Let your audience interact with you. Let them interact with a virtual audience. Most importantly, let them interact with each other. Ideas beget ideas when you allow audiences to interface and you’ll slowly bridge the gap that divides them.

(Image by dying_grotesque via Flickr Creative Commons License)