Have you ever managed a hybrid meeting in China from the USA? The current time difference is 13 hours – this means a lot of late nights and early mornings.
Working with “on the ground” staff was interesting, to say the least. Hiring technicians, set-up and strike assistants, on-site coordinator, simultaneous translators and other translators for converting English documents into Mandarin, photographer and lighting/sound helpers took an enormous amount of effort, numerous phone calls, texts, Zoom and WebEx calls. But at the end of the day when the dust settles, the meeting is over and another client is exuberant with accolades for work well done, it’s worth every minute!
As you begin to plan such a meeting, its good to keep a running list of items you cannot forget such as calendar reminders, presenter full dress rehearsal and training, to be performed virtually, (preferably the day before the meeting), suggesting engagement questions, (especially for the virtual audience), polling questions, (randomly embedded in the presenter’s slide deck), assigning moderators or question catchers, count-down clocks, music during breaks and so much more.
Different countries and regions have varying degrees of COVID protocols. This makes the role of the meeting planner even more important in ensuring uniform practices for the safety of meeting attendees. For example, while Tianjin did not initially require masks, social distancing, and temperature checks working with the hotel and our onsite team, our guests were required to have temperature checks and display QR codes upon entering the meeting venue. Ensuring social distancing compliance from meeting room sets to coffee breaks to lunch took careful planning and lots of created floor plans.
Then there were the sound checks and final tweaks, the evening before “showtime”. Everyone had a role to execute – the simultaneous translators had to be present in their booths, for microphones to be tested, multiple laptops for technicians placed in the proper spots, cameras and lighting adjusted, and an entire production crew double-checking the platform and links. What an exhilarating time! Well worth it to see it all come together.
The day of the meeting went off without a hitch. A great meeting was experienced by all. The client was happy and we could not be more pleased!!
Photos of the socially-distanced meeting room and the technology set up are below.
