Setting the tone is a real tool that can be used in a lot of differ- ent situations.Of course,what it means to you and me depends on the situation we are in.You don’t want to start off a meeting with your boss by tackling himand then doing a dance.However, you want to make sure that your intentions are clear right from the start, and that you make sure your boss is engaged in the meeting and the subjects at hand.
Nowhere is setting the tonemore important than in livemeetings and
events.By setting the tone,you give the attendees an idea of what’s to come –maybe not somuch with the subjectmatter,but how that subject matter will be delivered,and how it will be dis- cussed.
You also set the tone to get them engaged in the event.You want to get rolling with something that will grab their attention and make sure they’re invested in what your organization has to say. You do this,of course,with your opening general session.
Let’s indulge in some reminiscing for a moment, shall we?
We are all meeting and event professionals, and I think most of us have been meeting or event attendees,
too.Think back to a
meeting you’ve been to before.You know the one I’m talking about. It starts at 8:00 am. Everyone sleepily shuffles into a ball- room and takes a seat as close as possible to the back of the room. There’s some light jazz playing on the speakers and the event’s logo is on the screens.A few minutes later than sched- uled, someone shuffles up to the podium and says“Good morn- ing, everyone.”When nobody answers, the person taps themicro- phone and says,“Is this thing on? You can do better than that. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!”They then proceed to drone on as you drift off into la-la land and wonder,“How did I even get here?”
We’ve all been to events like this. I’m guessing we’ve all worked events like this in some capacity, too. Maybe you planned this event, or presented at it, or you catered it, or you were the light- ing tech, or participated in another
way.The point is that we all know what it’s like to attend and work this general session.We know it doesn’t engage attendees, doesn’t get people excited, and that the tone it sets is
boring.So, if that’s the case,why do we keep doing this?Why don’t we change it up? How do we change it up?
The“why”is pretty easy.We want to set the right tone at the begin- ning of an event so that the audience“gets into it.”We want them to be excited for what’s about to happen, for what they’re about
Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 87
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