Turn down the volume

Why do corporations and associations have meetings? This is a very interesting questions with a variety of possible answers. As a keynote motivational speaker, I have been asked by over 500 organizations to come in and address their audiences over the last 25 years. Every one of these clients have had a variety of reasons for their event, and whether I am addressing 10,000 people or a small group, there was one thing every company has in common. It is a meeting. They are bringing their valued people together for a purpose. One of those purposes is for people to interact with each other, to engage and to share.

There are so many different occasions used to bring people together and one is via social events that may include a cocktail party, a dinner and there is often background music, a live band or a DJ. This brings me to my gripe…

Why does the music have to be so loud? All the events that I have attended, people want to talk and engage, but most of the time it is hard to impossible because of the volume in the room. The louder the music, the louder one has to talk, or just give up. Because musicians and DJ’s have been around music so long, they have become deaf. They do what they love because they love music. We too love music but in a different way. If we want to go to a disco or a bar with load music, we do, just not at a corporate event. Yes, having a good time is what meeting planners want us to have, but we are there for a greater purpose. Music should enhance our experience, not dominate it. Please, turn down the volume. Meeting planners can hold vendors to a level where the rest of us can have a wonderful time and serve the purpose of why we travel to meetings.