There were so many interesting things to check out as I skipped around the Internet this week. Here are four that I thought were particularly apropos to meeting professionals:
• Go ahead, make your meeting participants laugh. We all know intuitively that laughter is a very effective “social lubricant,” and now here comes the science. As Meetology Lab’s Jonathan Bradshaw discusses in this week’s Meetology Minute, a 2015 study showed that people who watched a stand-up comedian video were more likely to reveal personal information to researchers than those who watched a natural history documentary or a golf instructional video. He says, “Again and again research suggest that laughter and humor are really powerful ‘social lubricants’ and that making someone laugh can help you bond with them in a way very few other behaviors can.”
So if your event’s goal includes anything to do with brainstorming, teambuilding, collaboration, or networking, injecting some humor will help get them in the right frame of mind.
• While we’re on the topic of making meetings more effective—it’s good to see that I’m not the only one who can’t turn off the meeting planning mindset while on vacation in a gorgeous spot. Check out Conferences that Work’s Adrian Segar’s musing on what meeting designers can learn from religious services he has encountered on his trip to Anguilla. I could swear I’ve had similar musings in the past, but darned if I can find them. Anyway, Adrian comes up with five things that are ubiquitous in Christian and Jewish services that would be welcome additions to pretty much any secular meeting I’ve ever attended.
• For small meetings, you know that the hierarchy in the room is having a big effect on how people contribute (or don’t), but this three-round card game outlined by Bob Kulhan on Fast Company is really illustrative of how the way you structure the conversation can affect how much status controls behavior. Fascinating stuff.
• Airbnb acquires crowdfunding startup Tilt. The alternative housing provider is continuing its inroads into other aspects of travel with its recent acquisition of the crowdfunding and peer-to-peer payment system startup Tilt. According to Fast Company, “The deal came together through conversations between Beshara and Joe Zadeh, Airbnb’s VP of product, who has been looking to expand the company’s capabilities around group travel.” Airbnb also recently bought high-end vacation rental company Luxury Rentals, and launched its Trips service, which matches travelers with local adventures.
What's caught your attention lately?
