Ensure ambient audio is not louder than people networking.
Meeting planners spend a fair amount of time and energy thinking about how an event space will look. But how many meeting or event planners think about how an event space will sound?
I confess I have a bit of an ax to grind here. As a speaker I communicate verbally, so the acoustic properties of a space are important to me. The better the acoustics and the sound system, the easier it is for me to connect with my audience. But this is not just me — most of the attendee “connecting” at your event happens via human speech, and for that to occur optimally the acoustics become very important.
Unfortunately, many times an event space is overly loud, and a great deal of the audio communication “bandwidth” is no longer available. If the general “ambient noise” of a room is too loud, either because of an overzealous DJ or because there are 200 people in a very echoey small room, that means people have to shout instead of talk — and even then, it's difficult to hear or be heard. This of course hampers communication.
When I appear at an event, I tried as best I can to “add value” by making myself available for individual chitchat during down times and the social events (I'm as eager to hobnob and network as anyone), but I can’t afford to shout for an hour or two at a loud party. It kills my vocal chords, and I need them for my next presentation.
One of the biggest draws of live events is the fabulous value in making those personal connections and contacts. If the room is too loud, while it may seem like there’s a lot of “energy” in the room person-to-person communication is being hindered. That is a real loss of value. You can see how a room will look in an individual walkthrough, but the way it will sound is a little harder to tell.
You certainly would not create an event space that had glaring bright lights in everyone’s eyes, nor would you ever have an all Day-Glo orange theme. That sort of “visual overload” would certainly be seen as unappealing, not to mention exhausting, and potentially even harmful. You would never think of doing such things to your attendees’ eyes. You should take care to not to overload their ears, either.
Photo by tianhua1993
Justin Locke is an entertaining speaker. He spent 18 seasons playing the bass with the Boston Pops, and is now an author and playwright. In his presentations, he shares truly laugh-out-loud tales of concert disasters, as well as unique insight into the leadership and team dynamics of a major orchestra. Justin will be featured on the "authors@google" series in 2012, speaking on his latest book, “Principles of Applied Stupidity”-- a most unusual approach to management. Justin would love to entertain your attendees at your next event. You can see much more, including sample videos, on his website and blog at www.justinlocke.com.