As companies continue to look for effective and efficient ways for their people to meet, more and more corporate event planners are choosing a hybrid blend of in-person and remote participation. Hybrid meetings offer tremendous flexibility for attendees while fostering connectivity and productivity. However, this format also brings an array of challenges that can make seamless execution difficult.
While the demands of producing hybrid events can be enormous, the AVD team has been pioneering efforts to create robust digital engagement in the corporate event space. During the past several years, we have successfully partnered with clients to design and produce in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings and conferences. We are sharing our top seven best practices for hosting hybrid events that are engaging, efficient, and effective.
1. Choose the Right Platform
One of clients’ primary concerns when planning a hybrid event is how to keep two different audiences engaged. Choosing the right platform is one of the keys to establishing effective two-way communication, essential to delivering an authentic and immersive experience for in-person and remote participants. Tech providers like Zoom and Microsoft are upping their game, introducing features to improve face-to-face communication and developing new types of meeting rooms to optimize the hybrid experience. But before you decide on the best platform option, you will need to establish basic event parameters. These include the number of participants and who they are, the size of the room, and the type of interaction you want to facilitate. Then you can work with your AV provider to determine the technology required to bring your plans to life.
2. Decide What Your Attendees Will See
Producing a successful hybrid event means ensuring that virtual attendees get the same experience as in-person attendees. As you design the meeting, consider not only what in-person attendees will see but also the visual experience necessary to allow your remote participants to engage fully. Do you want to show the presenter’s face, their slides, or both simultaneously? For panel discussions, do you want the moderator in every shot, a wide shot of the entire panel, or individual shots of each panelist when speaking? If it’s a large meeting, AVD can use robotic cameras to cover reverse angle live audience shots so that their faces (not the backs of their heads) are projected on screens and in the Zoom room. This approach adds variety to the virtual experience and gives remote attendees the feeling of being on-site. Another way to engage remote participants is to provide them with a presence in the room by projecting their images on monitors during the meeting.
3. Prep Your Presenters
Your speakers or panelists may not have experience presenting in a hybrid format. To ensure that each presenter is seen in the most professional light, it is important to familiarize them with details such as lighting, filling the camera box, and being equipped with an adequate camera and microphone. AVD’s meeting support includes facilitating rehearsals to prep every participant ahead of time. Whether rehearsing on-site or in our virtual greenroom, our producers coach speakers, test sound levels, and adjust lighting for more consistent balance. We also tech-check in advance each presenter’s hardware and software.
4. Design Breakout and Networking Sessions for All Attendees
Many meetings require not only bringing everyone together, but also facilitating breakout and networking sessions. Meeting planners should review each activity and exercise with an eye toward how in-person and remote attendees will engage, then determine what tools and techniques can be used to maximize their interaction. For example, if you are incorporating an on-site networking function into the event, there is technology that allows for this kind of interaction in a virtual format.
Suppose the meeting design calls for putting people into small groups. In that case, you will need to consider the number of breakout rooms, if facilitation is needed in those rooms, and whether or not you want to integrate remote and in-person attendees. Using your platform of choice, AVD can provide various collaborative tools such as whiteboards, content sharing, and live chat to engage all attendees in your hybrid sessions. With effective two-way communication, group problem solving, team building activities, Q&A sessions, and socializing can feel like face-to-face interactions in a hybrid environment.
5. Don’t Forget Tech Support for Remote Participants
During hybrid meetings, technology needs to be working well so in-person and remote attendees can see, hear, and interact. Conducting a comprehensive audio, camera, and internet check beforehand is essential, still it is equally important to be able to address technical issues that may occur while the meeting is in progress. With AVD’s Help Desk for IT-related issues, remote attendee technical support is always just a click away. If there are any connectivity issues or computer problems, we can quickly resolve them.
Remote participants also may benefit from having access via text or chat to a single point of contact who represents them in the live meeting room. Whether it is to help facilitate Q&A sessions, consolidate comments to pass on to presenters, or troubleshoot when a camera is blocked or an attendee needs to speak louder, designating a staff person or fellow participant to serve as an in-room advocate can vastly improve the experience of your virtual audience.
6. Have a Plan for Repurposing Content
One of the added-value aspects of a hybrid meeting is the ability to repurpose the content for future use. Because the event is virtual, you can record everything from presentations to Q&A’s. This recorded content can be a valuable tool, not only for those unable to attend the meeting but for training, marketing, or promoting future meetings or events.
Thinking about how you plan to repurpose content ahead of time will allow you to work with your AV partner to ensure you have what you need. AVD does post-event editing and polishing, so recorded content has a nice clean look when we hand it off to the client. Be sure to check with your internal security team for any requirements around proprietary information that may be shared during the meeting. Regarding security, we take every measure to ensure that our clients’ most sensitive IP and trade secrets remain well protected before, during, and after events.
7. Partner with an Experienced AV Company
Hosting a hybrid meeting is complex and demanding, but thoughtful planning and the right technology will help ensure that every participant is engaged and feels valued. AVD’s “Remote-Ready” hybrid capabilities bridge the gap between virtual and face-to-face interaction. We seamlessly blend in-person and remote participants, no matter how disparate their locations or how complex the production requirements are.
Putting state-of-the-art audiovisual technology to work for our clients is a key part of the hard assets we bring to every client project. But that’s not where our job ends. We also offer total AV support, including remote speaker technology checks, attendee technical support, presenter kits with pre configured laptops, and more.
To learn about how AVD’s experienced production teams can help level up your next hybrid conference or meeting, call (973) 993-8500 or use our contact form.